The Aphrodite Games-80th Annual Hunger Games
by The Cake Always Lies
Summary: The Capitol craves romance from the Games, more so than death. In a bid to keep the population happy, Snow creates the Aphrodite twist. The night before, the males get to pick a female to ally and date them throughout their time in the arena. The Capitol voting for the ones who show no romance to be attacked by mutts. The twist? The Tributes have no idea. Prequel to a future SYOT.
1. Districts 1-6

**This is a Hunger Games story were all the characters are created by me. I wrote it a long time ago but I am rewriting it and publishing it here. I did publish it a few days ago but I thought, why not have some fun? I hope you enjoy. I have up to the bloodbath finished so updates will be super fast. I do have a SYOT called Invictus-Dawn of a New Game. Check it out if you have a free moment :)**

For the rules of the Games:

The night before, the unknowing tributes will be put in pairs. The males will have to pick one female from the group they want to 'couple' with. They will be expected to start a romance with this female tribute. If one of the pairs dies, the surviving one has 4 hours to convince a male/female to couple with them (can be the same sex) or face their tracker blowing up while in their blood stream. If a couple makes it to the end, the female gets a choice, allow her male to win along with her but face marriage to him or kill him and leave a free woman. The tributes have no clue about this twist.

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Mambo Number 5-D1-5**

 _"During the 74th Hunger Games, Katniss died in the bloodbath so the rebellion never got the spark it needed. The Games continued and now everything is ready for 'The 80th Annual Hunger'. The tributes have been reaped and the Arena is ready so just one thing is left unanswered, who will win this time around? A story that follows the narratives of twenty-four characters so come read, pick your favorite and see how they do in his Game of life and death."_

* * *

 **Alexandrite Musgravite, aged 18, District 1:**

I had to be silent, my life depended on it. I slowed my breathing, my chest only making the slightest movement as did so. My green eyes were trained on the wooden floor in front of me as they waited for anything to happen. I brought my sword up to my chest, the cold metal touching the skin my vest top left exposed as I crouched down lower behind the wooden crate. My red hair, despite being tied back out the way, was sticking to my back and shoulders with sweat and my top was drenched.

My body tensed as I heard the ever familiar hum of my victim cutting through the humid air as it came closer. I smiled softly as I turned my body towards the opening, my right leg turning with it while my left leg dragged behind, slightly outstretched. I held my sword out in front of me in the defensive stance I had been taught. Everything I had worked for all came down to this.

As soon as the shadow of a human-like figure came into view, I knew they were close enough. I flung myself forward, my left leg pushing me off while my right foot impacted the ground and turned my body towards my victim. I let out a battle cry as I swung my left hand back before quickly swinging it forward, the sword it held cutting through the air, not even the force from it impacting the neck could stop it. I sliced through it like it was butter.

I spun round on my right foot to see my handy work as the lights turned on and the beeper sounded. In front of me lay the dummy's head, far away from the body that was attached to the small mechanical runner. My pride was shattered when I looked closer at what was stuck in the head. A small, metallic knife.

"Painite!" I screamed, throwing my sword to the floor in anger.

"Looks like I got the kill this time sweet cheeks," he sang as he skipped up behind me, his strawberry blonde curls bouncing with each movement. He was dressed in a sharp, black suit with a silver band around his wrists that was covered in Painite stones. Being the son of a Victor did get you the finer things in life.

"You ruined my training time you jerk!" I squealed as I slapped by hand across his chest, picked up my sword and walked away from the laughing baboon. He quickly runs after me, his brown eyes sparkling with pride. He would find this funny.

"Well you see," He said as he jumped in front of me, his index finger pressed to his cheek as if he was in deep thought. "This isn't timetabled and if I remember the wise old words of twelve-year-old Alexandrite, that means it doesn't exist so this is also my training time which means that is my kill," he smirked as he bopped me on the nose before turning round and doing a victory dance. I did not know what was scarier, the twerking of the fact he was going to be on live TV in a few hours.

"Are you honestly always like this?" I sighed as crossed my arms in front of my chest. Painite looked at me silently for a few seconds, I could see the cogs turning in his head, before a smug smirk formed on his face.

"Not Fridays," I raised my brow at his strange answer but he must have taken it as me begging for him to continue. "On Fridays, I like to put on women's clothing and become a stripper named Glamour," He looked at his nails like he was studying a hairline fracture in them. "It's a hard life and the money is weak," He choked, fake tears as he fell to the floor in crippling sadness.

"You should become an actor Miss Glamour" I sighed as I pushed passed him and walked towards the weapons stand.

"I might pick it as my talent when I win,"

"If," I corrected him.

"You're not going to the reaping dressed like that, are you?" he said, gesturing towards my training outfit, a white jumper with brown cloth pants and leather boots.

"Yep, I will have my time in the Capitol to play dress up. For now, I just want to feel comfortable," it might have seemed odd to some people that my main concern about going into the games was the fact they would change who I was. I didn't want to be molded into some pretty girl who blushed whenever a man winked at her. I wanted to be me.

"Fair enough," He said with a shrug. "Your mother won't be pleased with you though," he sighed, his head shaking slightly as he leaned against the weapons locker I was placing my weapon in.

"She never is," I scoffed as I walked away towards the light switch.

"She will be when she sees how amazing you are in that arena," He sighed through a sincere smile. He was an annoying idiot ninety percent of the time but these rare moments is what stops me from killing him. However, as if wanting to break the happiness, his smile morphed into one of a hyperactive child as he bounded out the door, shouting a goodbye as he did so.

The idea of him killing anyone seemed alien to me and I wasn't sure I wanted him to turn into a killer. As much as it pained me, I liked goofy Painite, I didn't want him to change either.

* * *

 **Lime Louis, aged 18, District 2:**

"You look like someone has tried to make a tramp look like a princess," I said to Jean as he sat down next to me, a beaming smile on my face. Jean stiffened up at my words, his mouth swung open and small noises squeaked from his throat as he attempted to form a word. "I don't mean that in a hurtful way," I spat out. When he did not react, I quickly stood up I walked off towards the table full of sweets. My hand ran through my brown hair as I mentally slapped myself, I needed Jean as an ally and if I carried on like that, he was going to hate me and turn on me in the bloodbath.

"M-my mother stayed up all month making his suit for me...she put a lot of work into it," I turned round to him and I felt like just jumping out the train window. His eyes were cast down to his token, deep in thought, most likely about his mom. Most careers' got given expensive tokens like my golden ring with a limestone middle. Jean had a simple piece of paper to remind him of home, a drawing he had made of his dog. I scoffed at first, the idea of such a puny token seeming foolish but it must have meant so much to him. He wanted that drawing to be the last thing he saw in his final moments and deep down, I understood how important that was.

"I wasn't talking about your suit, that's beautiful, I was talking about your hair and facial hair," I said softly as I gestured towards his messy, overgrown black facial hair. He just shrugged, folding the paper up and putting in his pants pocket. "Do you still want to ally with me?" I whispered to the tall boy, his brown eyes looking into my blue once with hurt before turning and looking out to the world zooming past the window.

"It's District Two tradition for the tributes to ally so until given a solid reason not to, you are my ally," he said in a monotone voice, his eyes briefly glancing at me to see my reaction. A smiled exploded on my face and I felt like jumping on him and hugging him out of pure joy. He was still willing to accept me, the outcast back home, the friend no one wanted. It made me feel warm inside like I belonged. Even if I was a trained killer, It was nice to be accepted but I still worried Jean was doing it so he could kill me easier later on.

No, that was dumb, Jean wasn't like that, he was a nice guy and if he killed me, it would be for a good reason. However, I still couldn't shift the thought.

"So what do you think of our potential allies from four and one?" I sang as I bounded over to the chair opposite him and jumped on it in excitement earning a raised eyebrow from him. He turned his body away from the window and towards me, placing his arms on his knees and leaning closer towards me. I took the hint and moved closer to him as if he was telling me a secret.

"The guys from one look strong, they hold their posture correctly and their bodies look well built so strong contenders...most likely best to let one of them lead, I would have to meet them to determine if they would betray us," He whispered, tapping his nails on the table with each syllable, it was a cute but noisy and an annoying habit. "The two from four" he groaned, scratching his temple in annoyance. "They clearly are not the most trained, their posture was all wrong and I can tell they are not as good as they put forward...a good career holds himself high, has respect and knows how to get the audience on their side, they did none of that, they just screamed the fact their ego was too big," He sighed, moving his hand back to the table, it was only then that I noticed his index finger was missing, the stump wrapped in white bandages.

"So are we going to let them in?" I said softly, my blue eye wide in shock that he got that much from a reaping.

"Well, it would be up to the other two but I say that assuming they do get in, if you have the chance to end their life, do it," He said sternly before standing up and walking towards the water fountain. Grasping his stump as he did so. I couldn't help but wonder how it affects his performance. I would ask him but he might take that as me trying to find a weakness. But I wouldn't kill him and I was confident now that he wouldn't kill me. It was a dishonor to kill your District partner. The only time it was accepted was in the final two or with a mercy kill.

"What if they are pretty nice people," I mumbled louder than I would've liked, in fear he would snap or hurt me for such a dumb question. However, he just raised and brow took a sip of his water and walked back over to me, swirling his water around in his cup. He sat across from me again but this time placed his feet on the table and leaned back in the chair.

"Everyone is a kind person deep down, even us 'killers'. That's why they tell you to only focus on everyone's bad traits then you can't think of the person you killed in a good light. At the end of the day, they will just slow down the alliance with their lack of skills and as horrid as that sounds, it is an alliance that is only together making sure a career wins, not a friendship group," He looked at the water as the small ripples shone from the rays of sun that spilled in through the window.

"It's a battle, not a game," I said, what Jean was saying starting to hit home. The dark-haired boy nodded as he placed the drink down and looked me in the eyes.

"I mean, If I wanted a group of friends I would have been more social back home" he giggled before getting up again and walking towards the table that was covered in sweets. I was so happy I had found Jean, I wouldn't die for him but it was nice to have someone to trust in my Games.

* * *

 **Arc Good, aged 18, District 3:**

The world seemed to fall silent as the pain in my chest grew. The only sound was the quickened heartbeat that seemed to boom and shakes everything with each pulse. It was so loud it made me feel sick. Or maybe that was just the eggs I had this morning not agreeing with me. The pain in my chest grew stronger with every second but I didn't even have the energy to move my hand up to massage it. My arms felt lifeless as they hung heavily by my side, shaking slightly as my body swayed from side to side.

How did I get here? Less than twenty minutes ago, Fousa was bugging me about meeting her that weekend after school and I was thinking of a way out of it. Now, I was stood on a stage in front of my whole District as my escort Prinn called for a volunteer to save me from my early grave. There wasn't one. I never put my name in more than I was forced to, my family was just well off enough to keep me from doing that. That means I only seven slips in there so this was all just bad luck. There must've been something I did wrong, though.

I looked into the crowd to find my younger brothers. Natan looked on, his eyes wide in fear as his body shook violently, his mind working overtime to try and fully piece together everything that had happened. He was a year younger than me and old enough to take my place but I didn't want him to. If any of the Good's were going to go through this, I wanted it to be me. Jabson was stood behind the crowd with my parents, shouting at them to do something, tears flooding out of his eyes. My father kept a brave face as he attempted to calm him down but my mother was on the floor, tears streaming down her face as she called my name.

"Arc!" Prinn shouted, bringing my hearing back and myself back to reality. "You seem sad, go pick the female tribute...my treat," she said, her snake-like smile curled at the corners. It baffled me that they really didn't understand what was so upsetting about this situation. I couldn't be angry at her, though, she was doing her job and I am sure deep down she hated it as much as people hated her.

As I dragged myself towards the glass bowl that held the female names, praying that I wouldn't pick anyone I knew. Fousa, Danie, any of the girls from school or even Darran's girlfriend, River, I didn't want to pick any of them. That probably made me an asshole, not matter who I picked, they would be loved by someone and I was sending them to their death. I took the deepest breath I could and threw my hand into the bowl and picked the first slip my hands fell around. I took it out, the white, glossy paper catching the sunlight and opened it to see the name displayed.

"Electra Stacy?" I choked as I called to the group of girls in front of me. They looked around confused for a few moments until the sound of a little girl and women screaming filled the air. The group of girls parted, opening up the gap were a small, twelve-year-old girl was sat on the ground crying. Her blonde hair sticking to her face as the black ribbon in her hair caught the sun. Her mother was trying her best to get over the fence of Peacekeepers to her child as she screamed at me to pick another name.

My mouth swung open as I threw the slip with Electra's name back into the bowl and moved backward, trying my best not to cry. I wanted nothing more than to put it back and pick someone else. I wanted to reach my hand in a pick of someone who deserved to die...but did anyone really deserve to die?

I looked over to Prinn who just looked on with a sigh. Only now did I see the scars of all the innocent children she had chosen to die. Always wondering if she just moved her hand slightly to the side, would have picked someone worth killing.

I watched with tears in my eyes as the Peacekeepers roughly pulled a struggling Electra to her feet. The girl's fringe fell over her blue eyes as she was dragged towards the stage and her death that I had created.

"I volunteer!" the voice made everyone whip their head around, volunteers were little to none in District Three and most of the people who volunteered, you hoped they wouldn't win. No one who was sane volunteered for the Games. However, when everyone parted, I was met with the hazel eyes of my childhood friend, Fousa.

She slowly walked up to the stage while the Peacekeepers threw Electra back into the crowd She held her head with pride as she walked towards the stage. Why was she proud of herself? She had a chance to live and she threw it away, most likely for a dumb reason. Prinn looked like she was going to explode with happiness, it must be nice to get someone who wanted the Games rather than a twelve-year-old who just wanted to live.

"Why did you volunteer!" I screamed as she walked up the steps. She narrowed her eyes at me before shaking her head, like it was a simple answer.

"I want to die anyway, life sucks, and I want to die with you," She said, her head bowed to the ground as she took her place.

"You're gonna die you dumbass!" I screamed as I walked up to her, looking down on her. She looked at me, the weight the situation not sinking in.

"Well, you will protect me and help me win so I don't see the problem," She said with a shrug. I could see the hate in my mother's eyes, they most likely matched the look in my blue ones. I sighed as I ran my hand through my brown curls.

"What about your mother?"

"She was a bitch anyway," Fousa said as she shrunk down, she could see I was going to lose it, I just wished I had noticed it too.

"You are so fucking selfish you dumb bitch, you always have been. You cheat on my ass three times and say it wasn't your fault because you was "stuck in the moment", you screw everyone over but act the victim when they won't give what you want and you treat mother like shit despite her bending over backwards for you but you don't give a shit do you?" She looked on in silence, Prinn's mouth wide with shock. "Well, you know what, I am not helping you anymore, let's see how good Miss Fousa Long really is without anyone kissing her ass," I screamed enough for the whole District to hear and I was willing to bet that every camera was on me and Fousa now. Fousa just pierced her lips and walked off to the other end of the stage.

She would come back once she realized I wasn't going to say sorry. I was right about one thing though, no one sane volunteers for the Games.

* * *

 **Arno Kennedy, aged 15, District 4:**

"They might look strong but deep down, we have tons of them," I said with a smirk as I sat back in my chair. I and Kianna had just finished looking through the sea of tributes and come to the conclusion that we would ally with the careers but we the best there. "I mean, the Academy picked us after all," I said as I turned to the repeat station to watch our reaping again.

"But they didn't," Kianna said, her green eyes wide with confusion. She was never the brightest tool in the shed but she was the only one willing to do this with me. The academy hadn't produced any careers this year due to two careers that were chosen committing a double suicide. Turned out they were in love or something. Good for us.

"I know that you blonde!" I snapped as I stood up and whacked her on the head. "They don't know that though...they may have the skills fighting wise but we have the skills up here," I laughed as I tapped my forehead with my index finger. Kianna looked confused for a second but then started to nod slowly.

"Can we sleep together after we have killed them?" Kianna said a hopeful smile on her face. The dumb bint really thought I loved her, it was funny and cute at the same time. Deep down though, I hated her. She was the most annoying person you could ever meet. It was never her fault and I am sure a rock was smarter. At least I had been to training, she was the daughter of a fisherman. Training is what sent me here. They chose someone over me to volunteer when we was eighteen. In fact, I was nowhere near the top but they just didn't assess me correctly. Oh well, they would be kicking themselves when I won.

"Errr, yeah sure whatever," I shrugged as I started to flick through the channels again. Kianna's eyes lit up as she clapped her hands together in joy. "Right, so let's get down business," I said, placing the control down and clapping my hands.

"What about the TV?" Kianna said. I sighed, turned it off and turned back to her.

"There wasn't anything about me on so we will wait a while, the TV stations need to report the small stuff first, we most likely have a set time for us to be talked about, we are rather big news," Kianna looked at me, nodding slowly again as she leant in closer. "Anyway, for the plan, we won't have to worry about sponsors as we have already got that in the bag, the careers are a bigger problem. They will want to see some skills so I think it's best you allow me to show off my fighting skills, you will just mess it up. After we are in the arena, we will kill them in their sleep-"

"What if someone tries to kill us?"

"Don't cut me off!" I screamed at her making her sink back into her seat. "As I was saying, no one will touch us because we are from Four, they are frightened of people from there. A few days after, we will set fire to everything around the cornucopia-"

"But what if the arena doesn't have trees...and won't the smoke kill us?" She questioned, her head cocked to the side.

"Eurgh!" I groaned she was hard work. "There is always tree's you bint and no it won't because, by the time it does, everyone will be dead," I said, I looked at her for a reaction but she just smiled at me not questioning what would happen in the final two. Guess blondes are dumb.

* * *

 **Netra Evans, aged 17, District 5**

"Isn't that something to do with a turtle?" I asked the boy who sat across from me, a denim jacket draped over his shoulders with a black bandana tied around his head. His blue eyes widened then quickly looked away as his skinny form shifted awkwardly.

"My parent's and friends call me a turtle so I would rather you didn't call me that please," he mumbled as he shook his head to move his dark blonde fringe away from his eyes. I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at this.

"Why? Turtle's pretty sweet creatures and it's not like you look like one or anything, it's just a nickname" I said softly, turning my head slightly to make sure there was no one behind me and to get another look at the chocolate cake on the side.

"That's my point, I don't look like a turtle so why call me one?"

"I think it's just a nickname hun-"

"No it isn't, they are making fun of me!" Cooter snapped as he got up and walked towards the drink table, grabbing a bottle of beer. I shrugged and stood up, walking towards the cake.

"Fair enough, you think if I eat this cake it will affect me in some way?" I said as I poked the cake with a fork. Cooter scooted up to me, taking the odd sip of his drink. He looked closely at the cake like he was looking for a tiny bug only to take another mouthful of beer.

"I don't think so, it should be out your system by the arena and if it makes you feel ill, you will be better by the time they start. If I was you, I would have a piece now, to see what happens and you can always ask our mentor about it," he said wisely, his shorter form standing on his tiptoes to place his arm on my shoulder.

"That is all I needed," I giggled as I picked up a large knife and carved a perfect, large slice out of it. It was a mix of milk and white chocolate with a soft sponge and a gooey chocolate center. I didn't know you could get any other chocolate but dark so this was amazing.

"So," I said through a mouthful of chocolate cake "you want to ally?". Cooter looked up at me in shock before a smile burst onto his face.

"You w-want to ally with me?" He stuttered as he tapped on his chest as if I wasn't sure who he was. I raised an eyebrow and slowly nodded, opening my mouth wide for the next piece of cake.

"Then, yes!" He cheered as he shuffled towards me and snaked his arms around my neck causing me to knock my cake on the floor. I frowned at the cake then wiggled out of his grasp.

"Okay then, the hugging thing is going to need some work," I shook, the thought of the unwanted contact making my skin crawl. "But this is going to be good, we just need some other people," I said with a smile, if I was going to die in that arena, I was going to die trying to win.

* * *

 **District 1:**

 **Female: Alandrite Musgravite- 18**

 **Male: Painite Barker- 18**

 **District 2:**

 **Female: Lime Wickham- 18**

 **Male: Jean Deco- 18**

 **District 3:**

 **Female: Fousa Long-16**

 **Male: Arc Good- 18**

 **District 4:**

 **Female: Kianna Frost- 16**

 **Male: Arno Kennedy- 15**

 **District 5:**

 **Female: Netra Evans- 17**

 **Male: Cooter Brumby- 18**

 **District 6:**

 **Female: Juncta Broughton- 15**

 **Male: Chug Johnson- 14**

 **District 7:**

 **Female: Elva White- 16**

 **Male: Timber Jensen-18**

 **District 8:**

 **Female: Tailor Jackson- 15**

 **Male: Cammo Cundell- 17**

 **District 9:**

 **Female: Grain Hudsbeth- 18**

 **Male: Quinoa Croft-18**

 **District 10:**

 **Female: Kalie Jackson-15**

 **Male: Rye Simmons- 12**

 **District 11:**

 **Female: Kyra Paschal- 14**

 **Male: Kyroic Stelson- 15**

 **District 12:**

 **Female: Lia Goodfellow-13**

 **Male: Asher Trist- 17**


	2. Districts 7-12

**Final 12 tributes! Let me know in the review who you think will be paired with who and who do you think will win, based off these chapters. I hope you enjoy. Oh, this is also the 80th Games, I done goof in the last chapter.**

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Good Grief- D6-12 Intro's**

* * *

 **Timber Jensen, aged 18: District 7 train, 10:45am**

This was bad. There was no way out, I just knew I was going to mess this up. I felt a lump in my throat as my blue eyes darted round the silent train that was slowly pulling away from the station. A group of oddly dressed Capitolites chased after the train, their camera's lense scraping across the glass. Their fingers pressed madly on the red button taking various photos of this year's District Seven tributes. I wished they would just leave me alone. I usually welcomed any attention but this time, I just wanted to crawl into my bed and cry.

"I'm going to die," I sighed as I slumped onto the chair, my index and thumb rubbing my temple as I closed my eyes and tried to wake myself from this bad dream. Just a few hours before I was arguing with my mother about the choice of my clothing and now I was on my way to die. I was sure someone, somewhere, found it funny.

"Well, so are twenty-three other people!" My district partner snapped from across the room. I opened my eyes and narrowed them at her. The sixteen-year-old was leaned over a table, her blonde curls covering her face and hiding the tears that fell from her blue eyes, but her slight whimpering gave it away. "For once, can't you just think of other people and not yourself?" She questioned as she raised her fist and slammed it into a small piece of cake on the table in front of her. I gave a disgusted look at the squashed cake that stuck to her sweaty fist.

"Why don't you calm down? I can say what I want to say," I said smugly as I leaned back into the chair and ruffled up my dirty blonde hair. For most people, this comment and just my presence would be enough to shut someone up. However, Elva wasn't any normal person. The girl swung round, rage in her teary blue eyes as she picked up the plate of cake and threw it at me. The plate flew through the air and smashed against the train wall while the cake splattered on my grey shirt.

"You are a dick and I can't believe that out of everyone I had to die with, it had to be you. If you find anyone in that gosh darn arena that can stand your shitty presence without killing you, hang onto them because they are dumb and one in a million," her voice was calm yet she radiated anger. She was only 5ft but she was the first person to ever challenge me. I wasn't sure how to react other than violence and I didn't really want to hurt her, I wasn't in the mood and the last thing I wanted was to look like a women beater.

"Wait, you don't know me," I mumbled, cocking my head to the side. "Quit judging me," I snapped as I rose to my feet, bit's of cake falling onto the blood red carpet of the carriage.

"You don't even know who I am...do you?" She said with a smile as she got closer to me, her small height looking out of place next to my tall, muscular build. "You bullied me from the day I started school and only stopped when I dropped out of school to work...you are the furthest away from kind hearted as someone can get, I doubt you have even done a selfless act in your life," she scoffed as she stood on her tiptoes to look into my eyes. "I don't want to die either, none of us do but unless you get your act together, you will be dead the second the Games start," she seethed before turning around and walking out the door, her tiny legs carrying her much faster than a casual walk. I slumped back into the red velvet chair and started to go over everything she said. She was right, I was going to die the rate I was going. I needed and alliance and fast.

* * *

 **Chug Johnson, aged 15: District 6 train, 9:50am**

"This is bullshit!" I shouted as walked into the room where Juncta was sat, silently staring out the window. Her gaze stayed on the raindrops that raced down the reinforced glass as I continued. "I bet you this is all just a cover up...and these two weeks are just filler work to get us frightened," I sighed, cutting a small slab of rabbit pie and drowning it in gravy. The short girl still continued to look out the window as if I wasn't there. "Don't you agree?" I questioned as I placed the china plate on the mahogany table.

"Not really, you can learn some valuable stuff from these two weeks and how could this be a cover up? This is not the sort of thing you cover up...it would be a fairly dumb cover" She said rather loudly as she picked up the small glass of milkshake, took the smallest sip and placed it back.

The room fell silent once again, the only noise being my metal fork scraping across the plate. Juncta stayed still as if in some sort of trance. It must have been a side effect of the Games.

"What's your plan for the Games then?-"

"Survive," she answered almost immediately as dark trees surrounded the train causing the automatic light system to come on. She clearly was not reacting well to friendly Chug so it was time to breakout the big guns.

"Yo beautiful, you want to ally?" Juncta turned around for the first time with a disgusted look on her face.

"If you stop acting like that, sure-"

"Oh god, what's up with your eye!" I screamed as I reeled back, falling off my chair and sending my pie and gravy flying onto the cream carpet. She raised an eyebrow and I gestured towards her right brown eye. It was looking the other way to the other one like it was broken.

"I have had it for years, can you not mention it please because I am very sensitive about-"

"Ha!" I laughed causing her to look over towards me with confusion. "Your glasses are like jam jars," I fell to the floor again in a fit of laughter, not even bothering to look up and take in my ally's reaction. "It looks like you have four eyes!" I belted before laughing so hard my chest felt like it was going to explode. As I rolled around on the floor, I heard Juncta mutter something to herself before standing up and walking towards the door.

"Stuff your alliance up your shitty ass" She spit before leaving me in the room giggling to myself. It was only a joke. I didn't need her anyway, I only needed myself to win this.

* * *

 **Tailor Jackson, aged 15: District 8 train, 11:22am**

"No!" I screamed towards my Escort Gladius. His red eyes widened while Cammo fumbled with his glass, it slipping past his overly large fingers and smashing on the table, the red juice spilling everywhere.

"What do you mean...no?" Gladius said, cocking his head to the side with a fake frown on his face.

"I don't want to die, I don't to be killed by a bunch of kids" I whimpered in the hope that he would go back and pick someone else. Gladius just smiled from ear to ear like he had just won the prize of a life time. Cammo was still silently cleaning up the mess he had created, refusing the help of the Avox that tried to brush him off.

"Darling" Gladius sang as he reached his arm out towards me and pulled me close. "You are going to die in glory, everyone will know your death. You will be in books and imprinted into everyone's brains...much better than dying in a cold shack," He sighed as he messed with my brown hair and started to plait it.

"You don't understand it do you?" I choked as I pulled away from him, moving backward until my back hit the large dining table. He just simple raised an eyebrow at me in confusion. "You are not going to die in a few weeks, you haven't been dragged away from your family...I would much rather die poor and with my family than well known and alone," I could feel the tears building up in my eyes along with a tight knot in my chest.

"I think I will leave you two to calm to calm down for a while," Gladius said before running out the door and to the next cart. Cammo looked after him with a pleading looking on his face as he scooped the glass into a small wire bin.

I walked over to the tower of a man and slumped into the chair opposite him. He stopped and watched as I sat down as if expecting me to make him jump. After a few moments, he shrugged and went back to cleaning up the glass.

"I can win this...can't I Cammo?" I said softly as I watched the small fragments of glass embedded in the carpet, glisten in the sunlight. The tall boy didn't answer and instead acted like I wasn't even there. The boy must have been close to seven feet in height and although he must have weighed a ton, it seemed to match his height rather well so he didn't seem fat. He came from a poor family judging my his raggedy old clothes and unclean nature. It was rather gross but I guess it just proved he was a poor and hardworking soul.

"If we were to ally, Would you protect me?" I said softly as I pulled my dress until it showed my tigh. Cammo looked up, his green eyes widening before shooting back down to the glass on the floor, a blush on his face. Perfect.

I got on my hands and knees and crawled towards him, knowing my overly large breasts would be mostly on show. Cammo watched me carefully, his brown hair sticking to his face with sweat, trying his best to keep his eyes on my chocolate brown ones. "A girl like me needs looking after Cammo" I said with a growl as I attempted to push Cammo onto his arse so I could climb on his lap by he just pushed me away from him, sending me backward.

"You little dick!" I screamed as my hand fell on a piece of glass, embedding it in my tanned skin. Blood flowed everywhere and pressure on my hand just forced the glass in deeper. I looked up to Cammo, who was knelt looking at me with interest and felt my cheeks puff up at the sight of a slight smile on his face.

I angrily pulled the shard of glass out of my hand and threw it at Cammo, it missing him my a long way and ending up under the table of cakes.

"Are you that much of a pussy that you can't even take a girl you gigantic bastard!" I screamed at the top of my voice as I tried to stop the blood flow. I had made the cut larger by my careless removal of the glass. The smile onCammo's face dropped and he stood up, his head just scraping the ceiling of the carriage, and walked out the door towards his room without saying a word. I was alone now. Like I would be in the Games. Allies would just slow me down, I only needed to look after myself.

* * *

 **Grain Hudsbeth, aged 17: District 9 train, 1:02pm**

"Now, don't take this the wrong way, I don't want to ally," I said sternly to my District partner. "You are very nice and smart but that's the reason we can't ally, we need to live, not make friends," the brown haired boy looked at me silently for a moment before smiling a toothy grin.

"It's okay love, but we can still talk, right? It would get pretty lonely if we didn't," He said, his brown eye wide like a child's when seeing something wondrous for the first time. I looked at him for a few seconds before pushing my wire-rimmed glasses up.

"Sure thing, I am Grain by the way," I held a hand out towards the boy who hesitated before leaning forward.

"I'm Quinoa, nice to meet ya' hun," he said as he took my hand and shook it with excitement. After the handshake, we both leaned back in our chairs in silence. I wracked my brain for a conversation starter, I was better at maths, not socializing.

Grain stood up, straightening out her white, cotton dress and pushed her wire-framed glasses up her nose.

"Well,I'm going to be off, no offense to you, it's been a stressful day" she mumbled politely before bowing and quickly walking out the room.

* * *

 **Rye Simmons, aged 12: District 10 train, 6:50pm**

The TV on the wall of the train carriage was huge! It was nothing like the piddly little things we had back home, and it actually displayed everything in clear colour! And you could see people's eyes! It was amazing, I'd heard the Capitol were rich but I didn't think they had the money for this! I was practically bouncing on the sofa as my district partner and I watched the reapings of the other districts, she seemed to be nervous. I had no idea why! I wasn't scary, she was much bigger than I was.

"Y'know that man looks strong!", I beamed at her, jerking my finger in the general direction of the screen where the muscular male tribute from Two stood stoic on the stage after volunteering. "I want him in my alliance!", I continued, turning back to the screen. As each district was featured, I found more and more strong people I wanted in my alliance, it was amazing! So many big people that could fight and help me win, even from some of the districts like mine. My district partner never said a word, simply sat beside me, her lips tightly sealed shut. Maybe if I outlined my entire plan to her?

"...and THAT is how I'm going to beat the last person, and my alliance will be victorious!", I declared. I had climbed up onto the arm of the couch, wielding a fireplace poker from elsewhere in the carriage to illustrate my point. I bet I looked cool. "Whatcha think?", I exclaimed, plopping myself back down beside her, a wide smile spread across my face.

"I think it sounds very nice", she said quietly, casting her eyes down at her shoes and picking her sleeve. She had a soothing voice. Wait, I think I had just figured out why she looked so sad.

"It's okay!", I said, patting her arm clumsily, "You can be in my alliance too!". She looked taken aback for a moment before her features softened and she smiled. She even looked sad when she smiled, what was wrong? "Don't worry, those strong people will protect us! We're going to survive, I bet on it".

"I sure hope so", she said, brushing her raven hair out of her eyes. She rested her head back against the cushioned headrests of the couch and deeply exhaled, she seemed to sink into the seat. It was weird. "Are you okay?", I asked quizzically, I placed my thin hand on her forehead. "You feel okay". This time when she smiled, there was genuine warmth behind it.

"I'm okay", she said, sitting back up in her seat and leaning forward, resting her head on her hands and looking at me.

"Awesome!", I exclaimed excitedly. "I'm Rye!", I shot my hand out, which she tenderly took and shook lightly. I'd seen adults doing this when they made arrangements.

"I'm Kalie", she said, politely nodding.

"Now it's official! We're partners!". I leaped off the couch and walked a few paces before turning on my heel and looking at her. "Now let's talk about how I'm the leader of thebestest alliance in the games and you can be my first mate!", I glowed with pride. This was going to be amazing.

* * *

 **Kyroic Stelson, aged 15: District 11 train, 3:30pm**

Kyra Paschal's shoulders shook, whether the trundling train was to blame or whether she was weeping was unclear, as her hands covered her face. On second thought, that probably meant she was weeping.

I sat on the opposite side of the train, twiddling my thumbs, trying to find the right thing to say. I'd just cried myself dry into the shoulder of my mother, so now I had to make up for that with a manly show of solidarity.

Kyra jumped as I slumped myself down on the plush couch beside her, the recreation carriage was great besides the lack of food. Wouldn't want to stain the carpets, I guess, we were way too dispensable to bother paying for cleaning on our account.

"You alright?", I said, stretching my arm out around her and pulling her into what I thought was a reassuring hug.

"Yes", she said bluntly, shifting out from under my arm and away from me. She wiped away the tears that stained her cheeks. I looked up her up and down, she was what myself and the guys back in the district would call a kitten. She was average height, but of slight build. Her face would've been cute if not for sharp features, that being said, I'd heard stories about her back in the district. If we'd gone to the same school I'd have made a move on her.

"You sure? You don't look okay", I replied, gently.

"That why you're staring at my tits?", she remarked. I twitched in surprise, had my gaze really lingered on her that long? Damn! I thought I was more subtle than this.

"Uhh…", I began, uncertainly. Y'know, best to just ignore her and start over, "Just know if you need a friend I'm here".

"Thanks", she replied, straightening her low cut shirt. It was like she was ASKING me to look. Best to introduce myself if I ever wanted to get anywhere with her, it'd be better to spend my time pre-games getting some personal time in than awaiting the carnage to come.

"I'm Kyroic. Our names are kinda similar, ain't that funny?", I said, beaming at her. She kinda grimaced at me, but her gaze softened and she humoured me.

"Yeah. I guess we were born around the same time, might've been a craze".

"I've never heard of any other names beginning with KY though… Not even in my year at school, surely if there was a craze there'd be loads of them?", I stroked my chin, deep in thought. Had I ever met another KY-person?

"I doubt there was an actual craze, I was just trying to be funny", she shattered my ponderings in one fell swoop.

"That's not fair", I grumbled.

"Neither is our situation. I had plans with my boyfriend tonight, and now…", Kyra looked back down at her shirt, it's low cut V-neck showing off a large amount of cleavage, as though the suggestibility of it reminded her of her lost lover.

"Uhh… I'm sorry", I said, unsure really of how to proceed with my plan.

"It's fine, he was just another dude to ride while it was interesting", she stretched back casually, pushing out her chest ever further. My breath caught in my throat and I nearly choked. Her eyes met mine, and I rushed to regain my composure.

Kyra stood, straightened her shirt to leave. Dammit, I'd ruined it. I'd messed up my chance with my damn nerves.

She turned towards me, took my hand, dragging me to my feet and towards the door.

"Where are we going?", I gasped in surprise.

"The bedrooms, if you're going to keep staring I might as well give you the full show".

Jackpot.

* * *

 **Lia Goodfellow, aged 13: District 12 Town Hall, 2:20pm**

Just once, I'd have liked to at least pretend that my parents cared about more than the drugs. I sat slumped against the hard wall of the room my escort had ushered us into after I was reaped. I think the guy was in here too, but honestly, I didn't pay any mind to the other child they'd sentenced to death. As always, my mother and father had decided not to grace such an unimportant event with their presence. They were free-loving, "free-thinking", types… Or at least that was what they called it, everyone else in the district and I knew them as lazy, oafish drug addicts.

I buried my face in my hands, I didn't want to be upset, I should've been used to this by now. 'I hate them, I hate them', I repeated over and over in my head. But no matter what I did, I couldn't convince myself of anything other than I was a little girl that needed her mummy and daddy. My tears came hot and fast, splashing down my face. I started heaving, I tried to stay quiet, but I couldn't. I'm so scared. I don't want to die.

"Hey", said a tender voice from beside me. My head snapped up and my eyes flung open as the male tribute slid down the wall and sat beside me, his eyes were brimming with sorrow. He'd just finished saying goodbye to his family and maintained a brave face throughout. I hated him. "Are you alright?", he said. I opened my mouth to retort, of course I wasn't alright. However… As I looked him up and down, his tall frame not burdened by the lankiness of others, but supplemented by tense muscle. He was no child. He looked strong. He looked useful.

"Yes", I sniffled, wiping my nose. Remain innocent, I repeated the mantra in my head. Be vulnerable. "I'm just terrified, I have nobody to protect me. Even my parents-", my voice caught in my throat. No- Damn! Genuine emotion had no place here.

"It's going to be okay", he said softly, "I'll protect you. We can be allies, would you like that?". I looked into his kind eyes. Score.

"Are you sure?", I gasped, feigning absolute delight. Gotta sell it. I squealed and threw myself into his arms. He chuckled to himself, a smile spreading across his face.

"You're safe with me", he said happily, "I'm Asher".

"Thank you!", I said, a smile glued to my face. I could survive with him, and others like him. There were bound to be other idiots reaped just gagging to ally with the innocent little girl that needed protection. This was going to go my way. I wasn't going to die.


	3. Chariots

**Chapter 4: What's Your Sign?**  
 **Chariot Rides**

* * *

 **Cammo Cundell, 15: District 8 POV**

"I look like an idiot," Tailor screamed, her brown eyes full of anger as she paced in front of our golden chariot. "Green and scales don't look good on me, it's like they are trying to make a fool of me," She stomped her feet as she slammed her fist into the air. I had to admit, we looked a bit dumb, she was dressed in snake like leggings with a smooth, snake skinned top that ruffled at the bottom. I, on the other hand, just had a simple snake skin suit. At the end of the day, no one looked nice during the chariot rides. It was Capitol fashion after all.

"Well, at least we ain't dressed as a quilt like last years tributes," I sighed, leaning on front of the chariot. Tailor stopped in her tracks while she cocked her head to the side and compared the costumes. I didn't even have to wait until she spoke again, I already knew she was going to find something wrong.

"Well at least they had something to do with home, last time I checked, I wasn't a snake," she whined, her high heel black shoes clicking on the floor with each stomp.

"And the two from five ain't dragons just like the ones from nine ain't pigs. There is clearly a theme here that we are missing," I snapped, my green eyes wide in anger. I had only known Tailor for less than forty-eight hours and she was already annoying me. Tailor looked at me in shock but it quickly turned into one of sadness as she turned to stroke the back of the horse.

"I just want something that reminds me of home," She mumbled before slumping to the floor, her eyes glazed over as if she was dead to the world. I wasn't sure if I could trust that this wasn't one of her acts but I felt sorry for her. I felt sorry for me. We had been dragged away from our homes with high chances that we wouldn't make it past the first night in the arena.

None of us wanted to die but it was out of our hands. Even if we gave the Games everything we had, it would never be enough. In Panem, you either in the District's or in an arena full of children. Part of me wished I hadn't been reaped but if I had of stayed home, I would of been worked to death or torn apart by illness. Maybe this was truly the best way to go. Death before you understood what pain truly was. Before you watched your family die around you, before you got to an age where you could fall asleep and never wake up. Maybe it was best to die young.

"And your final touches!" Our stylist Flutter screamed as she bounded over to the chariot holding two large snakes around her neck. I stood up straight while Tailor continued to stare off into space as she stroked the legs of the horse.

"Why do we have snakes?" I questioned as Flutter draped one of them over Tailor's shoulders and moves on to me. Her red eyes were wider than any normal humans and she had a constant smile on her face with lips that were puffed up with botox.

"Not my place to say, mainly because I don't know. I do know one thing though, all the tributes have the animal they are dressed as with them," She sighed as placed my snake around my neck. I stiffened up and my breath hitched as I felt all of it's mussels move as it slithered across the back of my neck. His face got very close to my nose before it's tongue smelt the air around me. "Don't worry, they are harmless. Treat them respect and they will do the same for you. At least that's what their handler told me," Flutter sang before she quickly jumped off our chariot and ran to find my mentor.

I swear, If I die during the chariots because of a snake.

* * *

 **Jean Deco, 18: District 2 POV**

"Grrrr," Lime growled as she and waved her hands in front of her like claws. The horses seemed to take no notice of her. The right one just simply turned and started chewing on the others mane. "I don't think they find me scary," Lime giggled as she walked back to the chariot, a childlike grin on her face. It was amazing to me that this was the same girl who had beaten over thirty over career's to the tribute spot. However, I didn't doubt the Academy's choices so I didn't doubt her skill.

"Maybe you don't look enough like a tiger," I scoffed as I gestured towards her outfit. We were both dressed in red robes with golden edges, Lime's having a slit that showed off her leg. We both had armoured gloves that ended at our elbow with metallic claws that ended at our fingertips. Shoulder pads in the shape of a tiger's face made us seem bulkier than what were were and we both looked stupid with our hair dyed orange and black. I think we were more tigers warriors that the animal itself.

I looked round the room at all the different animals as they got given to their owners. Seven got a pair of rabbits, One got two, large roosters. Where was ours?

"Hey, like," I said, tapping my District partner on the shoulder, she snapped her head round to look at me, the bun on her head wobbling slightly. "Do you think we are going to get tigers?" I said I gestured towards the other tributes. Her eyes widened as the two from four were given a rat each and eleven were given two sheep.

"Maybe," Lime said with a soft whispered as she brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. The idea excited me, I had only ever seen tigers in story books my mother used to read me as a child. The idea of seeing one in real life just made me want to jump up and down like a child.

"I hope so," I sighed as I lowered myself to sit on the floor and dream about seeing my favorite animals. My dog, Suki, would of freaked out at the smell of such a different animal in her presence. I could see her dopey face as she ran, her pink tongue hanging out and flapping in the wind. My hand instinctively went to my pocket for the drawing a made of her but I was only met by the soft, silk like fabric of my costume. I had been advised to keep it with my mentor to insure it didn't get chucked out with my other clothes. I don't know why, but the idea of my clothes being thrown away made my stomach turn slightly, like the true me wasn't good enough for them. Did my clothes look that bad?

"''Ello there dudies," the male from one screamed from behind me, his head just peeking over the chariot. His blue eyes sparkled, his ginger hair was curled slightly. He was dressed in a suit covered in hen feathers with some sort of tail feathers coming out his back. His District partner looked back at us with a smile, she looked more like a cockerel with her feather dress and strange pink thing connected to her neck. What on earth was going on with them. "Me and Alexandrite, over there, were wondering if you wanted to try out for the careers?" he said with a giggle as he step onto the chariot.

"Try out?"

"Yeah, you show us your skills and we show ours so based on that you can decide to ally with us or not,". It seem like a risky plan as they would know our skills but it made sense, no one wanted to ally with someone without seeing what they would bring to the group. While I thought over my options, Lime jumped right in.

"Yes, I am Lime Wickham," She said with a beaming smile as she shook his hand. He giggled then looked towards me with an raised eyebrow. I swung my head side to side before standing up and holding out my hand.

"Sure, I'm Jean Deco," I said with a grin, he seemed like a decent guy.

"Awesome, I am Paninte Barker, pleasure to have your interest," he said softly as he shook my hand with a firm grip. He sure was a social butterfly. He also knew how to greet people. The academy in his District had picked well. "Now, just to go ask the two from four" He laughed before jumping off the chariot and going to find them. Good luck to him.

"I think these are yours," our escort Tropical said with a breathless voice. I turned around to find her with clawed up arms, bloodshot eyes and a running nose. I had seen someone have an allergic reaction before, it wasn't nice. However, it was a true crime to be allergic to the small little fluff balls she held in her her arms.

"They are kittens!" I screamed as I leant over the chariot to pick on up. They might not of been tigers but they were just as cute. I held him in my arms and stroked his dyed orange and black fur as he gently meowed. He was mine now.

* * *

 **Lia Goodfellow, 13: District 12 POV**

My dress was clearly made with an older female in mind. The shape hugging dress was low cut showing off my small breasts that had been padded up to at least seem like an A cup. The dress ended mid thigh and just below my knee, brown, fur covered boots clung to my calf. A long, silk cape was trailing behind me as I walked towards the chariot and it was attached by a brown fur hood that had pointed, soft brown ears. I could only hope they didn't kill any animals to get me this fur. I did hope, however, that the golden collar around my neck was real gold. I had never seen, let alone worn something that expensive. This could feed my whole family for a lifetime. We wouldn't have to worry about struggling ever again.

Asher walked by my side, his matching fur suit, cape with the fur hood and a golden necklace. He had a far off way look until his brown eyes met mine and his offered a friendly smile. Asher was a kind dude and judging by what he told me, he was a hardworking man who didn't deserve the cards he had been dealt. No one bad ever got reaped for the Games but every year you hoped they would just to save the good guys like Asher.

I was grateful that he had allowed me to ally with him but I couldn't help but hold a grudge to him in some way. He refused to add anyone to the alliance due to trust issues with people older than him. I needed more people though. Asher was most likely going to go down in the bloodbath and I still needed protection. I needed older, strong tributes who would mother me and protect me over themselves. Asher fit the bill but he wasn't strong enough to make it past the first few days.

I looked round the room at the multiple tributes. I would be better off with males as the Capitol would like the fathering type more than the mothering. Men were also easier to fool. I needed at least three people to protect me if I was to win and If that meant multiple alliances, so be it.

I took Asher's hand and pulled him towards the chariot that had two large, grey dogs tied to it. The helpless thirteen year old worked with Asher, only time would tell if it worked with other people or if I needed to change my angle.

* * *

 **Arc Good , 18: District 3 POV**

"Fuck sake, shut up Fousa!" I moaned as I rubbed my temple, slipping down the side of the chariot. Meanwhile, Fousa screamed with all her might as she swatted away the small monkey that sat in the golden cage in front of her. It was all for attention and it was working, but not in the good way. I tried to pay as little attention as I could to the sniggering tributes as they watched Fousa scream and pull at her clothing. What on earth was wrong with her clothing? "Is it because you look like a monkey too?" I sighed, watching as she fell backwards onto her butt.

"No, I look like a female," She shouted as she clawed to get the red fur dress off herself.

"You should've told your stylist you wanted a suit then," I scoffed. She narrowed her brown eyes before quickly slamming her orange fist into the chariot, the ears on her head bounced slightly.

"I don't want to look like a man!"

"But you don't want to look like a women?"

"No!"

"Then does it matter if you are in a dress or not?"

"Urgggh, you don't understand!" She wailed as she jumped off the chariot and stormed off. Our escort would find her soon enough and drag her back to her place. I looked around at the other tributes and felt my stomach turn. In two weeks, some of these people would be dead and some of them would be killers. Would I be either? Or would I just be by myself surviving.

One tribute capture my eye. The tall blonde from District 5. She stood tall above her skinny District partner. She had a tight, golden corset with golden, spiky shoulder pads. Her shirt was made of an aged fabric with a wingless dragon print on them. Her golden hair was styled into two branch like horns on top of her hair and her golden makeup made her ice blue eyes pop. She was beautiful. I felt my stomach flip at the mere thought of asking to ally with her. But how would Fousa react?

I looked over to the brown haired girl who was screaming at our escort for lord knows what and I made my decision. Even if the dragon girl turned me down, it was better than never trying and being alone in the arena with Fousa.

* * *

 **Chariot Costume Theme's**

 **District 1: Rooster.**

 **Animal: Rooster**

 **District 2: Tiger**

 **Animal: Tiger printed Kittens**

 **District 3: Monkey**

 **Animal: Pygmy Marmoset**

 **District 4: Rats**

 **Animal: Rats**

 **District 5: Dragon**

 **Animal: Komodo Dragon**

 **District 6: Horse**

 **Animal: Horse**

 **District 7: Bunny**

 **Animal: Bunny**

 **District 8: Snake**

 **Animal: Snake**

 **District 9: Pig**

 **Animal: Pig**

 **District 10: Ox**

 **Animal: Chariot pulled by OX's**

 **District 11: Sheep**

 **Animal: Sheep**

 **District 12: Dog**

 **Animal: Weimaraner**

 **Author's Note: So here we have the chariot's. Next will be the first training chapter. I hope you enjoyed and let me know what you thought in the reviews.**


	4. Training: Day One

**Chapter 4: Training Part 1  
Cooter Brumby, 18: District 5 POV**

* * *

"so yeah, that's why I was wondering if you wanted to ally with me," the taller boy with glasses said shyly as he rubbed the back of his head. "I mean, Fousa Long is allied with me so if you were to say yes, you would also gain her as well," this time the guy from six sounded needier like he didn't want to be in the arena alone with the girl.

Netra's face turned into one of disgust at the mention of Fousa's name. She hadn't been silent about her distaste for the girl since we watched the reaping. In her eyes, the girl lacks common sense and was an attention whore. In all fairness, I had to agree with her but this was a death game, not high school.

"sure, we could use the allies," I said with a smile, holding my hand out towards the boy. Netra pulled a face as we shook hands before sighing and holding out hers aswell.

"go on then, but I would like a few more allies," Netra said with a forced smile. I had to go agree but at the same time, disagree. More allies meant more chance of survival and getting something in the bloodbath but it was also more chance for something to go wrong. More chance for someone to stab us in the back.

"I'm okay with that, are you Cooter?" the boy with the curly brown hair said. I looked into his blue eyes and felt his stomach turn. I wanted to say no, I wanted it to just be us four but I could bring myself to say it I couldn't bring myself to anger my new allies. They might hate me and ditch me, leaving me for dead. I couldn't risk it.

"Yeah, I'm cool with that," I laughed as I tried my best not to look any of them in the eye.

"ace," Netra said as she jumped up and down. "I think we will need some muscle too," this time she looked around the training room at all the other tributes. I felt my stomach turn again. I didn't want a stronger ally, they would be able to overpower me at any moment I wouldn't stand a chance.

The male from three agreed with her and they started going over potential allies. I had to stay quiet. I looked around the room too. The careers were taunting the small boy from ten as he tried his best to throw the knives at the moving target. Dicks. Not too far away from me, the large boy from six was boasting about once using rotting fruit to kill some peacekeepers. Bullshit. However, there was one person, in particular, that seemed worthy of our alliance. The short girl from District Eleven, the red headed girl was punching away at the holographic screen. The screen would display a plant and she would have to say if it was deadly or not, she was doing well so far. Pretty and smart.

"Oh, I am Arc Good...just so you know," the curly haired boy said, looking up from the table him and Netra had taken a seat at. I smiled. I wished I could have stayed and got to know Arc a bit more but I had to do my part for the alliance. If they could pick a strong person, I wanted to pick someone of my own and a hot one at that.

* * *

 **Arno Kennedy, 15: District 4 POV**

"Aw, come on kid, you might as well give up now...you ain't going to win this," I seethed as I pushed the boy from ten backward, his blue eyes tearing up. The boy was entertaining, watching him throw knives at a moving target was the most fun I have had since I volunteered but now it was just getting pitiful. What was the point of him trying? I mean, I would kill him in the bloodbath just to end his horrid existence.

"Arno!" a voice called from behind me. I turned to see Lime, a sword slung over her shoulder with an angered look on her face. "You have proved your point, now let him go," she said sternly as Jean and Alexandrite joined her with a confused look on their face. I smiled smugly as I turned round to throw one more punch at the boy to prove my worth, only to find he was gone.

"Urgh, you made me lose him now you bitch," I snapped as I pulled the throwing knife that was in my boot out and threw it on the ground.

"Good, kids that young shouldn't even be in these Games let alone bullied by you," Lime growled as she readied her sword by her side. A softy huh? How could she expect to win these Games if she couldn't even pick off the weaklings? I smiled smugly as I bent down to pick up the throwing knife.

"Whoah, calm the fuck down," Jean whispered as he quickly moved in between us. "You are lucky you didn't get caught fighting with cattle-boy, fighting with Lime, you two are just asking to get caught and punished," He said as he placed his hand on my arm and lowered it until I dropped my knife onto the floor. Lime lowered her sword in unison.

"Thanks, Jeanie, glad someone has their head screwed on here," I laughed as winked at the taller male.

"Don't call me that-"

"Teddy?" I questioned, cocking my head to the side.

"You address me as Jean Deco. We are not friends, we are allies. Nothing more and if you keep going the way you are going, we won't even be that," He growled, his brown eyes full of hatred. I had misjudged him. He wasn't smart at all, a smart guy would threaten me like that. He might be larger than me but I could take him down if he pushed me too far. I would break that big, crooked nose of his if he carried on. Now wasn't the time though. I could get rid of him in the bloodbath, then I would have the whole career pack to my disposal.

* * *

 **Kyroic Stelson, 15: District 11 POV**

I felt my stomach do somersaults as I watched Kyra shake hands with the skinny boy from five and walk back towards me. Her green eyes met my brown ones and she quickly looked away, avoiding any eye contact.

"Hello," She said softly as she joined me at the fire making station where I had been waiting for her. I just simply grumbled in response as I picked up a large stick and a slab of wood with a hole in it. "Are you angry at me?" she choked as fake tears formed in her eyes. I narrowed my eyes and studied her face for a few seconds before throwing the stick to the floor and turning to her.

"Do you have an alliance with that guy?" I snapped. Kyra flinched as she looked over to where I gestured. Cooter was sat at a circular table with his District partner and Arc, tucking into a large pizza. Kyra shook as she turned back to me. "I knew it, forget the alliance," I sighed as I stood up and started to walk away from the station.

"No, please," Kyra whimpered as she latched onto my legs, almost making me trip over. "He asked for an alliance but I told him I already had one with you...he wasn't willing to join with us so he called it off," she mumbled as she pushed her face into my pants leg. I looked down at her while she shook with each whimper. These cries seemed real compared to the ones before. Maybe she was telling the truth.

"Look, it's okay. I am sorry...I just," I paused and sighed as I sat down next to her. "I am stressed about the Games, worried too, I just want to make sure I can trust my allies," I rubbed my temple as I tried to push the thoughts of my death that filled my brain once again. Kyra looked at me and violently shook her head as she grabbed my face and pulled me close.

"I promise, you can trust me with your life," She said softly as she pulled me into her and kissed my nose. I smiled as it felt like a weight was lifted off my chest. I might die soon, but at least I wouldn't have to worry about my ally.

"Hey," a small voice said from the well-lit fire that was next to us. I turned to see the boy from ten, a small bruise on his arm in the shape of fingers. "I heard you have an alliance, would you be interested in allying with me and my ally too," His freckled cheeks were red as he shuffled towards us with the excitement of a puppy. I looked over to Kyra who just looked back at me with a smile.

"Show us your other ally first," I said with caution. The boy nodded before turning and pointing towards the small girl from twelve that was trying to climb the ropes. They were young and weak but they would bring sponsors and they couldn't stab us in the back. "Sure then kid," I said with a chuckle as I messed up his curly brown hair.

* * *

 **Elva White, 16: District 7 POV**

The boy next to me groaned as his knife once again slipped, cutting the tip of the wooden arrow head he was making. He placed the piece of wood down gently and picked up a new block and started again. I sighed and looked down to my own handy work that was almost perfect. Spending your life in a wood District, you learned a thing or two about carving.

I looked back at the boy, his oversized hands held the small knife wrong and he was only millimeters away from slicing his fingers off. I couldn't leave him like this.

"Cammo, right?" I said as I put down my own work and turned to the much taller boy. He must have been almost seven foot. I didn't even know you got people that tall. Timber was the tallest person I had seen and he was around 6ft 2. "You are not going to get anywhere holding the knife like that hun," I chuckled as I took the knife and slab of wood from him and started to whittle the wood.

"You have to hold the blade like this and just gently push, keep the blade straight," The green eyed boy looked down in me in wonder as the misshapen wood started to look more and more like an arrow head.

"Where did you learn to do that?" he exclaimed as he snatched the arrow head from my hand and turned towards the light to try and find imperfections.

"Well, I am from seven, it's a common pass time there," I laughed, standing on my tiptoes to reach up and take the arrow head back from him.

"So you can kill people?-"

"No, killing people is different from being able to make arrow heads, I can't even make or fire a bow," As much as I wished I did, we were lucky we got away with making the odd arrow, let alone a full bow and firing it. That was punishable by death back in seven. People my age didn't tend to know even how to make the arrow heads that was more of a thing the lumber yard workers learned while on breaks. However, my father was a lumber worker and taught me the tricks of the trade from a young age.

My hand shot up to the wooden flower pendant that hung from my neck by string and felt tears well up in my eyes. A few more years and I would have been able to live in peace with my family but instead, I was ripped from my home and thrown to the wolves. All I really wanted was to be back home.

"I think them guys over there want an alliance with us" Cammo said softly as he bent down to speak to me. Apart from being offended by him bending down, I was pleased he was observant. Then again, at that height, you had to be otherwise you would step on little people like me. I looked over to where he was pointing to find Netra Evans and Arc Good both pointing at me and discussing something with a bored looking Cooter Brumby.

"Wait...us?" I said with a smirk as I turned round to Cammo. The taller boy looked down at me, his face turning pink as he stumbled over his words.

"W-w-well I was wondering if you wanted to ally?" He said with caution as he back slightly away from me. He must have been frightened of rejection. He couldn't have been frightened of a shorty like me.

"Sure!" I beamed as I grabbed his arm and pulled him towards our admirers. "Now let's go get in with some other people huh?" Cammo just looked at me and smile, his cheeks still red. Things were looking up for me, maybe I did have a chance of winning after all.

* * *

 **Alliences:**

 **Careers:**

Peninte Barker- District 1

Alexandrite Musgravite- District 1

Jean Deco- District 2

Lime Wickham- District 2

Arno Kennedy- District 4

Kianna Frost- District 4

 **The EvGood Turtle:**

Netra Evans- District 5

Cooter Brumby- District 5

Arc Good- District 3

Fousa Long- District 3

Kyra Paschal- District 11

Elva White- District 7

Cammo Cundell- District 8

 **The Ky's:**

Kyroic Stelson- District 11

Kyra Paschal- District 11

Rye Simmons- District 10

Lia Goodfellow- District 12

 **The Twelves:**

Asher Trist- District 12

Lia Goodfellow- District 12


	5. Training: Day Two

**Chapter 5: Training Part 2**

* * *

 **Juncta Broughton, 15: District 6 POV**

"She is still following us, dude," the skinny blonde boy, that I had learned was called Cooter, squeaked as he ran towards Arc, who I assumed was the leader. Arc looked over his glasses at me as I did best to hide behind the dummy from the empty knife throwing station. It was late at night and everyone was pretty much in bed. Everyone except Arc, Cooter and Netra.

"Do you want to be in our alliance or something?" Arc asked, cocking his head to the side as he looked me up and down. I knew what he was thinking. I was short, skinny and rather weak; but he had agreed to ally with the girl from earlier and she was much shorter than me. I nodded as I slowly crawled out from my hiding place.

"She is rather weak, " Netra said, stroking her chin as if deep in thought. There it is, someone had to say it. Arc nodded as he and Netra shared their thoughts. Arc turned to me, opening his mouth to speak when Cooter shushed him and ran towards me. He snaked one of his arms around my shoulders and smiled creepily at me like he had some big plan for me.

"She is strong in her own way guys, you can't just leave her to die" He whimpered as he bent down and leaned his head on my shoulder. He made me want to run home and shower for the rest of my li , and coming from a place where I was lucky to get three showers a year, that was saying something.

Arc and Netra looked at me, their eyebrows raised, as Cooter started stroking my curly brown hair. The stress of the Games must have been getting to him.

Suddenly, there was a loud crash behind Arc and Netra. We all turned to find the tall, strong male from seven backing away from a fallen rack of swords, a look of  
"You okay?" Netra mumbled as she looked at the mess the blonde had created. He quickly glanced up and his look of pure terror turned into a smug grin.

"Yeah, I meant to do that, destroy all the Careers weapons then they can't train, ya know?" He laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his head. My eyes widened as his large biceps tensed. He was a tank, How on earth did someone from seven become that strong? He must've had a rich background.

"I-I better clean this up, sorry" He mumbled as he quickly turned around and started to clear up his mess.

"Him," Arc remarked to Netra, jolting her out from some far away land. "You said you wanted someone strong in the alliance, here you go" He sighed, patting her on the back.

"But didn't Elva say he was a bully back home?" Cooter blurted out loud. Timber's back stiffened and he froze. "How can we know he won't turn on us in the arena?" Cooter said, lowering his voice to a whisper as he pulled Netra and Arc closer.

"He does seem a bit dumb", Netra said with a shrug. I watched as Timber crained his neck to try and hear what we was saying.

"Makes him more likely to do what we say...he can run into the bloodbath and get a lot more stuff that we could plus he is too air headed to turn on us...we just won't put him on watch" Arc whispered so low I almost didn't hear him, so I felt confident Timber wouldn't.

"Fine, but if you take him on, you take Juncta on too," Cooter said, stomping his foot as he did so. It made me happy that he knew my name and was standing up for me but, the dude was a creep. Arc pushed his wire-framed glasses up his nose and he looked me over again before nodding and turning back to Netra.

"Deal, hey Timber-"

"Yes, I would love to ally," The tall blonde said, jumping up with a smug grin on his face. I didn't even know the dude yet and I hated him. I could only hope he calmed down in the arena but at least I had an alliance. I would be safe in the arena, and if I was lucky, Timber would die doing the suicide mission Arc would condoct for him, leaving the rest of my time in the arena as smooth sailing.

* * *

 **Chug Johnson, 14: District 6 POV**

"So you see, this is all muscle," I said proudly, grabbing onto the fat that hung off my arms. "I just don't eat the right stuff, if I did, I could of looked like Timber" I laughed as I gestured towards the tall blonde boy from seven who was allowing Fousa Long to touch his toned stomach. The girl pulled a face and walked away, leaving Timber looking lost. It didn't last long though and he quickly moved to talk to Juncta. I was happy that she had found an alliance but it angered me that she left me, I had no one now and if I didn't act soon, I would be going into the arena alone.

"So, you are pretty strong?" Lia asked, her eyes wide with childlike wonder. I felt my heart skip a beat as I wracked my brain for an answer, I couldn't just say yes, she might ask for a demonstration.

"Yeah, once, I beat up three peacekeepers, frightened them so much, they didn't even convict me… I doubt they even reported it" I sighed, leaning back on the wall behind me. Lia seemed to be taking all of this all in, was I really that good at lying? "So, If you ally with me, you will be safe from everything" I held out my hand towards the girl. She seemed shaken up as she looked round her as if she was expecting someone to be watching her.

"Sure," she said quietly as she shook my overly large hand. "It's nice to have someone that strong, we are going to smash the arena" She giggled before standing up from the table and running towards the rope tying station. She was a nice kid. I just hoped I didn't have to show my strength otherwise she would find out the truth.

I thought back to how much my lying got me bullied at school. You'd think it would be my weight or looks but nope; people mocked me for my lies. I once terrified the school by saying I had been shot in the side of my face, they just laughed when I turned up without a scratch on me. Same with the time I also told them I got banned from going to the Capitol because I tried to blow it up.

I knew no one ever believed my lies but dumb thirteen year olds but I couldn't help it. I just felt the need to lie or put my twist on things. Life as the mayor's son was nice to people on the outside but boring to me. I got everything I asked for at the click of a finger and I wasn't allowed to do anything interesting so I saw no other way but to make it interesting myself.

I felt bad lying to my only ally but I had no other choice. She wouldn't of allied with me otherwise. I was going to die in that arena, everyone knew it. I just didn't want to be alone.

* * *

 **Kyra Paschal, 14: District 11 POV**

"So, if you meet us at District three's level, I will introduce you to everyone and we will discuss plans" Arc said to me. I could tell he wasn't happy with me being in the alliance but he felt the need to allow me due to Cooter already telling me I was in.

"Okay, I will be there, six just like you ask" I mumbled, avoiding eye contact with the two. Arc nodded as if deep in thought and left almost instantly. Cooter on the other hand left after giving me a wink making my stomach turn. I wasn't sure how many failed attempts it would take him to see I wasn't interested.

I watched as they walked off back to their group that would be soon be my alliance. At least now, I could pick the alliance that got the most supplies in the bloodbath, I didn't really care who it was, I was after the best alliance not friends.

"So Kyroic was right huh?" Rye said as he jumped out in front of me, spinning a cleaver in his hand. "You are with another alliance?" he growled angrily. For the first time in my time in The Capitol, I felt frightened of the small boy.

"Please don't tell him, Rye, I have my reasons", I said as I forced myself to allow hot tears to trickle down my face. Rye looked at me with pity in his eyes. It didn't take much to convince people I was innocent, but he was different.

"Save the water works, Kyra, I ain't telling" Rye scoffed as he ran his finger across the blade of his cleaver. "That's if you do what I say" his smile curled into something sinister as he walked over to the wooden work station and started carving Arno Kennedy's name into it. "You may stay with this alliance until the bloodbath, then you leave and go off with your lover boy over there. You don't come near me, Lia or Kyroic again and you give me everything you get from the bloodbath," I felt like stabbing the smug brat right in front of me, he wasn't a kid, he was twisted.

"Or I could just tell Kyroic that you are a psycho and to kick you out of the alliance" I snapped, suddenly I found the cleaver thrust against my throat. I flinched. Rye gave me a toothy grin as he pulled it away, victorious.

"Who is he going to believe, honey? The innocent twelve year old, or the girl who he fucked once?" He said with a nonchalant shrug as he went back to carving Arno's name. "Face it, the helpless kid is a better angle than the one between your legs" he laughed as he finished up and and placed the cleaver in the inside pocket of his training outfit.

He turned and waved a cheery goodbye, leaving me at the back of the training centre by myself. Kyroic was in danger with that kid around but I didn't care enough to tell him and Rye was right, everyone would take his side over me. They always did. Looks like I knew what alliance I would stay with after all.

* * *

 **Timber Jensen, 18: District 7 POV**

"They should be here soon, sit tight, guys," Arc said as he looked at the new silver watch he had brought that day. Everyone sat on his double bed groaned. After an hour of waiting for our missing allies, it was starting to get boring. I looked over to the tall blonde beside me. She was plaiting her long, golden blonde hair while her icy eyes seemed fixated on my crotch.

"Netra, right?" I said through a grin. The blonde girl shot her head up to look at me like I had captured her with her hand in the cookie jar. Sadly, her hands were in her hair. "I think, you should cut your hair before the arena, it might get caught on something" I purred as I stroked the plait she had made. I couldn't help but chuckle as she started to go red, her nose flushing through first. It was cute.

"You always know what to do, huh, Tim," Kyra said seductively as she slowly pulled off her thin training jacket and arched her back to reveal a low cut tank top that showed off a pair of boobs far too big for someone her age. I wished I could tell her to stop. She was fourteen, the same age as my little sister. How could I be attracted to that?

"Cammo, just stop!" Someone screamed from behind the door. We all looked over to the door in time to see Elva kick it open and storm inside the room, Cammo following after her with tears in his eyes.

"Please, I don't want to die a virgin-"

"Piss off, I don't want to have sex with you, Cammo!" Elva cried as she pulled a pillow off Arc's bed and threw it at him. Tears spilt from the boy's eyes while the room fell deathly silent.

"Stop crying dude, be a man," I said in a level voice as I tried to sooth the giant. The tall boy stopped and looking over to me. "Next time, try going for someone on your level, or is into tall men with melted faces" I joked, judging by the pain that flashed in his eyes, he didn't take it that way. The boy breathed in one last time before running out the room and down the hall.

"What the fuck is he doing here?" Elva screamed, leaping away from the bed and pointing to me.

"We need someone strong and Timber fit the bill-"

"So you picked the person who bullied me for all my childhood and made me think of killing myself on more than one occasion?" She whispered dangerously, striding over to Arc who looked terrified.

"I admit, that was dickish of me but then, I was only trying to help-" I was cut off by Elva throwing a pillow at me.

"Fuck it, I am out of this alliance! You clearly only care about yourselves, not the alliance itself. Goodbye" Elva said through tears before slamming the door and chasing after Cammo. The room was silent except for the odd whimper from Arc.

"Well, that could've gone better," Netra sighed, placing her head in her right hand while she rubbed Arc's shoulder in comfort. I couldn't fuck this alliance up, I needed to grow up and become a new man. Otherwise I was going to be killed in my sleep.


	6. Interviews and Twist Announcement

**Authors Note: Woooo, next we have the boys choosing which girl they want to couple with. Who do you think they are going to chose? Next chapter will also be the first chapter I have written for this story in over a year so wooo! Excitement, drama, all that jazz.**

* * *

 **Chapter 6: Night Before and Day of Interviews**

* * *

 **Fousa Long, 16: District 3 POV**

It was amazing that such a simple thing like an elevator could seem so magical to me. The glass cylinder silently climbed up the metal wall with the help of unseen mechanisms. The glass floor and walls allowed me to gaze out over the shrinking world below as I passed each floor. I felt like a bird flying high in the night sky and far away from the glass tribute centre that held me captive.

"Seventh floor," a woman's voice with a strong Capitol accent boomed out of a speaker as the elevator came to a stop and the glass doors wooshed open to reveal two Avox's standing guard. They let me walk a few paces before lightly placing their hands on my shoulders and blocking my way.

"And what business do you have here, Three?" a short blonde women with thick, black-framed glasses said, looking up from her holographic new's paper. She gestured for the Avox's to let me free as she put down her newspaper and placed her glasses next to her. Her blue eyes seemed so well known to my brain yet, her face didn't ring any bells. Maybe I remembered her from a past Games, but I didn't watch past Games, only the ones after I was born.

"I am here to see Timber-," I was cut off the middle aged women spoke sternly over me.

"Well, as his mentor, I was not informed so I am going to have to ask you to leave-,"

"It's fine, she is with me," Timber said politely as he walked into the room from the dark hallway to my left. The blonde boy looked at the women who raised an eyebrow at him and fear set into Timber's eyes. "Thank you for looking out for me though and I will tell you next time" He spat out, clasping his hands together and shaking them in front of himself slightly. His mentor simply smiled at him and with a nod, put her glasses back on and went back to her newspaper. This was a different side to Timber, a side I had never seen before. He was being so polite and straight back, just overall being out of character.

"What was the message you had to give me?" Timber said, seeming nervous as his mentor kept an eye on him. He crossed his large arms over his chest as he rocked back and forth slightly. I looked round the room, not only was the female mentor watching me, there was an older male who was sat at the marble table sipping on some hot chocolate, the red mug overflowing with cream and marshmallows.

"Is there somewhere more private? Netra and Arc don't really want anyone knowing," I whispered as I bowed my head down towards the floor, trying to act nervous. The tall blonde looked back towards the two mentors who both just shrugged at him.

"Well, there is my room but it would have to be quick, we are having dinner soon," Timber sighed, rubbing the back of his neck as he looked towards the dark hallway where his room must have been.

"Perfect!" I shrieked as I jumped up. "Lead the way," I said as I gestured for Timber to move. He looked down at me with his blue eyes in confusion but just shrugged and started to walk off to his room.

"So, what do you want to talk about then?" Timber questioned as he turned on the blue light in his bedroom and walked over to his bed. I looked around the room and could tell the boy was home sick, every window had been replaced with a projection of a forest, I am guessing they was similar to the ones back in seven.

"I want to talk about us," I said slowly as I walked over to him, the blond look up at me and raised a brow as if he was expecting some bad news. "We are both hated in the group-,"

"I wouldn't say I was hated-,"

"No Timber, we are hated," I snapped, he widened his eyes like this was new information to him, something he wasn't expecting. "And you know that this is all Netra's fault right-,"

"Surely it's us as people-,"

"Stop interrupting me!" I screamed, making Timber shut up anger filling his eyes as he tried his best to not retaliate back at me. I walked over to him, unbuttoning my dress as I did so and dropping it to reveal my bra. "She turned everyone against you and stole Arno from me and I think we should get back at her," I growled in his ear as I climbed onto my lap. As I leaned in to kiss him, he pulled away and pushed my face away from his.

"How has Netra turned anyone on me? Also, I don't think there is much between her and Arno, they just seem like good leaders to me," He sighed with a shrug as he fully pushed me onto the floor and stood up.

"So you are taking their side?" I whimpered as I picked myself up off the floor and started to put my dress back on.

"No, I just don't think you are thinking things through plus I don't want sex with you," He snapped as stormed over to me and pushed me towards the door.

"Then I will just have to kill you with everyone else, I will kill you all!" I screamed as I punched him in his toned up chest. Timber's face flashed red as he grabbed my dress by the neck and pulled me close to his face.

"You won't fucking lay a finger on anyone in this alliance or I will kill you myself," He bellowed, much louder than I did, right at my face. For the first time, I felt frightened, I could see why Elva was so hurt by him, I could understand why he was the District bully. He was overreacting about nothing. He swung open the door and pushed me into the dark hallway with tears streaming from my brown eyes.

"You should stop hurting people for no reason!" I screamed at the top of my lungs before running down the hall.

"Yeah? Well maybe you should have a shower once in awhile," I growled at him. I passed Elva on my way who gave me a sympathetic look.

"Maybe you should learn not to be the bully for once or I promise you, you won't last long," Elva snapped at Timber in the distance just as the doors to the elevator closed.

* * *

 **Kalie Jackson,** **15: District 10 POV**

My blue eyes shone with fascination as the training scores came up one by one. Most of them came up like I expected them too, Career's with the highest and us out folks averaging at around six. It was the same Every year. I was most of all interested to see my score. I was asleep last night when it was aired but Rye has congratulated me this morning so I must've done okay or at least, higher than him.

"Kalie Jackson, from District 10," the pink haired man with yellow eyes said with glee, my face appearing on the screen next to him. "Score of…six," he shouted while a large six faded in next to my face. I smiled to myself and reach for the control to turn the screen off. I didn't really care about what score's people got, I didn't mean anything in the arena in my eyes. Someone with a score of ten could go down in the bloodbath, just like someone with the score of one could. I had done well though, six was the average this year and I was pleased with that.

"Rye Simmons, from District 10," My hand hovered over the control as I watched my young District partner's face appear on the screen. "Score of...seven," I felt my heart sink. How on earth did a twelve-year-old get higher than me?

As if on cue, the door to the seating arena swung open and Rye scurried inside. The freckled boy took the seat to the left of me, bringing his knees up to his chest. In his hand, he held a bread bun coated in some sort of icing that was dripping down the sides and onto his hands. I looked at the crimson substance and wondered is the young child next to me would get any other red liquid on his hand.

"Well done on your training score," I said timidly as I turned off the TV and lent back in my chair. The boy looked at me, his cheeks puffed up with food and gave me a toothy grin.

"Gee, thanks, Kalie, you too," food flew from his mouth and landed on my arm. I groaned as I wiped it off but Rye just gave me a sympathetic look as he hurried to swallow his mouthful. "So, who do you think is going to bite the dust first?" he chirped, trying his best to change the subject. Did he honestly still not understand death?

"I don't know, part of me wishes no one had to die," I sighed, placing my feet on the table in front of us and relaxing back into the chair. Rye looked at me blankly while he chewed, like my answer had open his eyes to something.

"Well, I hope I don't die or have to kill...death frightens me and killing put you in too much danger," He said as he looked at his food lovingly before taking another bite. I couldn't help but note how he only talked about himself and even when talking about killing, it some how related back to him. "I mean, I hope you don't die either," this time he sighed, giving me a soft smile as he did so. It wasn't sincere though, it felt added on like he wasn't thinking that.

"How did you get that score Rye?" I said seriously, standing up so I was towering above him. He tried to look innocent as the brown curls fell just above his eyes but he was hiding something. He was playing the Game like everyone else. Rye then simply smiled as he stood up from his chair.

"Secret, Kalie," he laughed, tapping the side of his nose. "Now, if you will let me, I am going to get some shut eye, need to be bright eye and bushy tailed for tomorrow night," he sang as he exited the room and walked towards our sleep quarters. "Good night, Kalie," he shouted back to me as I heard a door creek.

"Good night, Rye," I mumbled and I slumped back onto the chair and switched the TV on. I needed some time to think everything over. Was I on to something or was I just being paranoid? It was hard to tell in my situation.

* * *

 **Lime Wickham,18: District 2 POV**

My soft whimpers were bounced back at me as I wandered down the hall that leads to the bedrooms. The soft, white carpet brushed against my feet and tickled as I carefully took slow steps towards Jean's dorm. After a long day of listening to Arno whine about being pulled from the final training class due to carving his name on a station, I just wanted to sleep. My mind wouldn't let me though. Vivid images of what my father did to me plagued my sleep just like they usually did my waking life too. I wanted them to go, I wanted to be left in peace and there was only one person who brought that. Every moment I was with Jean was bliss. No voices or bad memories, just the joy of having a friend.

When I reached the door to his room, I hesitated. I wasn't sure how best to approach this situation. Would Jean want me to knock or shake him awake? Or was it best to sneak in and let him find me in the morning? No, that would come off a bit strange. I was best asking his permission first. Shaking him awake was my best bet as he might not hear my knocking.

I pushed open the door, it creaking slightly as did. I walked slowly into the room, closing the door behind me and looked around. The room was dark aside from the window that was playing a video of a child playing with his dog on repeat. Jean must have fallen asleep watching it. I walked towards the double bed, that Jean was sprawled out on, the covers half on the bed and half on the floor as he made soft growling noises every time he exhaled. His toned chest slowly moved up and down with every breath. His beard was messy and his normally gelled, black hair was stuck to his forehead with sweat. He looked so peaceful and that made me feel worse about what I was about to do.

I held out my arm and clenched on to his and started to shake it. Jean's snoring stopped as he shook his head and rolled over. I pulled away from him for a second and watched as his face morphed into one of discomfort. I held out my hand to shake him again when he grabbed both of my wrists with his right hand, pulling my closer as he shot up onto his knees, holding a small pen knife to my throat with the left.

"Jean," I whimpered as I tried to pull away from him. His brown eyes widened and he let go of my wrists and pulled the knife away.

"Lime?" He yawned as he looked over at the digital clock on his wall. "Fucking hell Lime, it's two in the morning, what one earth are you doing?" He groaned as he angrily yanked his cover back onto the bed and placed the knife back under his pillow.

"I had a nightmare and I was wondering if I could sleep in here?" I whispered, running my hand through my black hair. Jean rubbed his eyes and then looked at the floor space. "Sorry if I bothered you," I sighed.

"No, no, it's okay, we all have bad thoughts, it's a stressful time," He said through a yawn. "You can stay but just know, you will be sleeping on the floor," I nodded, a large smile beaming on my face as the bearded man threw me the pillow next to him. I walked over to a large space on the floor, outside of the bathroom, pulled a throw off the chair and laid down.

"Good night," I chirped as I snuggled into the warmth.

"Yeah, night," Jean Grumbled as he wrapped himself in a cover and turned away from me. After a few moment's, his snoring started up again and I couldn't help but wonder how many other tributes had been in this same room and died. Would I and Jean be in the same rooms after we won? Would we be good mentors? I only knew one thing, I was happy I was going to be spending the rest of my life with Jean. He was the only person I needed.

* * *

 **Netra Evans, 17: District 5 POV**

"So, I just wanted to say, I am sorry we let Timber in our alliance without taking your feelings into account," I said to Elva who was sat across the table from me with a white mug of coffee in her hand. The early morning sun shone through the glass tribute center. Other than the cleaner, we were the only people in the center's restaurant at the moment. A bliss we hadn't experienced before. Most of the time, the lobby and restaurant were full of "fans" who would pay massive amounts of money to spend a few hours here and MAYBE see their favorite tribute.

"Why can't you remove Timber from the group, I saw him bullying Fousa last night," Elva said, her voice cracking as she did so. I glanced over to Arc who was looking at his empty cup with sadness.

"Because we need him," Arc sighed, pushing the cup away from him. "He is the strongest one of us all so we send him to get the good stuff in the center of the cornucopia...so for all you know, he might die," I could see the guilt in Arc's eyes. He didn't like the idea of sending someone out to die but he had a point, out of all of us, Timber had the most chance of making it back. The bounty he would bring would be worth the risk.

A tear formed in Elva's eyes as she took another sip of her drink, avoiding eye contact with us.

"I am just worried he will bully me in the arena, these are going to be the worst days of my life and maybe my last, I don't want some arsehole making it worse," She said shakily, trying not to cry as she did so.

"I promise, he won't, if he does, we shall beat him," I said as I took another sip of my milkshake.

"See, and that's coming from someone who has a crush on him," Arc laughed from next to me, his blue eyes sparkling with mischief. I scowled at him as I angrily slurped my milkshake. "Oh come on, I have seen you looking at him," Arc scoffed as he leaned back in his chair.

"Okay, so I find him hot, doesn't mean I have a crush on the dude, he is a dick," I snapped back, as I fumbled over picking up my drink.

"Sureeeee," Arc belly laughed. He laughed so hard his glasses were starting to fall down his face. Elva looked at us with a grateful smile on her face as she picked a marshmallow off the top of her coffee.

"Thank you, guys. I trust you both so I am back in," me and Arc cheered and high-fived each other, missing our hands by a long shot. "Did Cammo agree to come back?" Elva laughed as she watched me and Arc attempt the high five again. The room fell silent as Arc look at me with anger on his face.

"He wouldn't speak to us, he just kept running away," I said quietly as Arc patted me on the shoulder. Elva just gave a small nod before standing up and pushing her chair in.

"I have to go now, my mentor wanted me back at nine...please ask Cammo again...please," She sounded deflated as she watched the cleaner grab her cup and walk off with it.

"Will do," I and Arc said in unison before watching the blonde run off towards the elevator. The room fell silent, the only sound was the sound of the sweeping brush scratching the slate flooring.

"So, another trip to floor eight huh?" Arc groaned as we stood up and we started walking towards the stairs. We weren't in any hurry to get up there, we had no problem taking a long way up. "This honestly has to be my biggest fear, annoying people, I mean, we have already asked the guy four times, he must be annoyed now," Arc laughed nervously over the echo of our footsteps and the sound of the doorway to the stairs creaking open.

"Nah, my biggest fear has to be water, horrid stuff," suddenly a mass appeared in front of me. I screamed slightly as I shot back to see who it was. The tall, good looking guy from Two looked down at me, his brown eyes looking equally as startled as mine.

"I'm so sorry," He stuttered as he maneuvered to hold the door open for us. Me and Arc look up at him as he smiled, gesturing with his arm for us to go past him.

"Thank you," I said with a smile while Arc just mumbled his thanks as he started to run up the stairs. I waited until Jean had closed the door and looked up at Arc who was still giving the spot the career had been stood evils.

* * *

 **Interviews**

 **Jaffe Nigel, Host of The Hunger Games POV**

Caesar was out and Jaffe was in. Since I was a little kid, staring wide-eyed at the TV, I have always wanted to be Caesar's chair, and now I was. I smiled a wide, toothy grin at the screaming crowd in front of me as I ran my hand through my pink hair. I loved being the center of attention, this night wasn't about the dumb, tributes, it was about me. I just had to interview them, make them feeling comfy and I was in the money. All the haters that were against me taking over from the late Caesar would soon be rooting for me.

"First up, our beautiful gem from District 1, Alexandrite," I screamed to the cheering crowd while the red-headed girl stumbled onto the stage in her high heels. She wore a dress, sectioned and styled like Gladiator armor. The entire thing is made of various thicknesses of leather, to give it a very armour-like appearance. She had metal cuffs and a net is woven into the bottom of it like a train, which I assume was meant to call back to how gladiators would trap their victims. She kept her answers short and to the point, like every career before her. She was a beauty though.

Next up was Painite Baker. The strawberry blonde tank walks onto the stage in the most outrageous outfit I had ever seen. His blood red, velvet suit, had ruffles across the lapel. He looked like the most badly dressed man in Panem but owned it. The stylists must have known with his outgoing personality he could pull off anything, so gave him an outfit he'd be comfortable in. Most of his interview was him mocking his suit and discussing how well trained all the careers were that year.

Lime looked like a beautiful knife under the spotlights. Her floor length dress was made entirely of sharp, metal sections. That moved with each body movement she made. She was polite and well mannered and most of her interview focused on her alliance with Jean, she didn't even mention the rest of the careers. I can't see that going down well.

Jeandore, or Jean as people call him, was dressed in what on first glance appeared to be a shiny, gunmetal suit, however, on closer inspection, it was actually intricately designed, lightweight, chainmail that was woven together and custom made to fit him. It was silent as he walked with pride to his chair. Jean talked about the generic Career stuff and his District but he also talked a lot about his dog Suki he had left back home. Interesting angle.

Fousa Long was like something I had never seen before. I heard her stylist's chuntering about her turning down everything they offered her but I didn't expect them to make her a curtain. She was just a shapeless mass of fabric. She stormed onto the stage in baggy trousers, and a baggy shirt. Maybe she shouldn't have complained so much. She ranted about Netra most of the time and talked about her District partner. Risky business when throwing hate at one of your allies.

Arc was much calmer. He pulled off a modern-looking tweed suit and his hair is poofed out and gray very well. I couldn't tell if the mad scientist look was because he was from three or if his stylist took inspiration from his wire-framed glasses. He talked about how proud he was of his alliance and how if he could, he wanted to keep his gray hair in the arena. Rather him than me.

Kianna skipped onto the stage wearing a dress that shimmered like the ocean, it was deep blue, however also pale blue, and sky blue, depending on how the light shone on it. It tapers down, into white ruffles across the hem, which simulate the ocean spray as it crashes against rocks. She looked beautiful, just a shame she was such an airhead. Four wasn't going to have much looks with her.

Arno was almost as bigheaded as me. I didn't like it. He had a silk suit that shimmered under the studio lights, a deep blue shirt beneath it, and on his shoulders, running the length of his arms, and bright, polished metal armored plating. He was stylish, he looked damn good, and he knew it. I looked better though.

Netra blew everyone away in her short cut dress that exposed the majority of her long, bare legs. The dress itself, which also as a V-neck, not too deep but deep enough, was a pale blue, streaked with deep, electric blue that forks across it like lightning, thanks to her District. Her hair is sharply curled, again, to call back to electricity. She tried to pull of a confident angle but she just came of nervous. Of the crowd and her dress.

Cooter, on the other hand, was far more skittish. The stylists must've thought, "hmm, he's kinda creepy." So; he was wearing an electric blue suit, plain as day, except that he wore nothing beneath the jacket, so exposing his hairless chest, where they had temporarily tattooed forks of lightning that crawl up his neck. He was clearly uncomfortable with this, and really didn't enjoy his time on stage.

Juncta was dressed in a loose-fitting, thin, white dress that was rather shapeless, but allowed her plenty of room to breathe and move around. It allowed her sass to radiate from her but honestly, I didn't remember her after she left the stage.

Chug on the other hand, how many lies can come out of one person? His stylists must of thought the same because he was dressed in a velvet, three-piece suit, complete with a waistcoat that was adorned with gold-leaf. His stylists must of played on his lies about being an agent back in his district, because they made him look like a really played up spy. The Crowd loved laughing at his lies and so did I.

Elva was done up as a typical heartbreaker. Red dress, her hair was straightened and fell over one of her shoulders, she has red lipstick on and deep black eye shadow. She was intended to play on the fact that while she is sweet, and innocent, you never know what lurks beneath the surface. However, I just didn't see Elva being mean. She made her answers as short as she could and looked frightened.

As if Timber wasn't built like a bull enough, he had been given a suit that was clearly padded, making him appear even larger and buffer than he already was. The padding is clearly fake because of the rather sharp edges. He was confident and answered the questions with arrogance until I asked about his family, then he fell silent.

Tailor, Tailor, Tailor. She was a beauty. Her slinky black dress that shows off her cleavage made her look stunning with her curled hair. However, she had as much personality as a wet rag. Shame, we could of been friends.

Thunder thighs, Cammo almost knocked himself out when walking onto the stage. He wore a golden suit, adorned somewhat with white goose feathers. Reference to Jack and the Beanstalk, the giant having a goose that laid golden eggs. Poor dude, as if having stage fright wasn't bad enough.

The two from nine blurred together in my mind.

Grain was dressed in simple, plain, modest dress. Or at least the equivalent of that the Capitol could provide. She well mannered but she just didn't have a spark in her.

Much like her District partner Quinoa. At least his outfit was more interesting. He wore a suit that appeared to be woven from stalks of corn, it is rather bland looking, and the cuffs taper off into what appears to be the heads of wheat. Clearly the stylists thought they had very little to work with and went purely with oh he is from D9. I was struggling even to interview him.

Kalie's dress was modest, not really showing off any of her body and was white with black spots. At first, I thought she looked like a cow, however on closer inspection I saw that the black spots are designed to intricately plan out where her muscles stretch beneath her skin. Strange.

Rye had tight fitting trousers, because and a pale blue shirt. He looks very young, and that was probably the point. He just came across like a kid that is going out to a wedding, they're playing on his innocence to try and garner sympathy. Judging by the crowd. It worked.

Kyra had a slinky, revealing dress. It was black, with a deep V neck, the sides were out exposing her hips, it was completely backless, she wasn't wearing a bra and just generally looked like she is wearing as little fabric as possible. It felt odd being attracted to someone so young.

Kyroic had a one-piece suit that is almost like a gradient, from the centre it was green however as it got down the arms and legs it faded into sky blue, likely to call back the natural resources in his home district. He clearly hated it as he kept complaining about wanting a costume like Jean or Arno,

Lia just had modest dress that was adorned with pale blue flowers, meant to symbolise how young and pure she is in the face of everyone else. She was a sweet young girl and it made me sad that she wouldn't make that far.

Asher's rough hewn trousers and shirt with suspenders holding them up was...different. He was intended to look like the typical father figure seen in classic movies, the ideal father as they say. Playing on his relationship with Lia I guess. He was also about as funny and interesting as your dad as well. He already had the dad jokes down.

All in all, an interesting mix of tributes. Some with a fire in their bellies and some who would just be forgotten past the bloodbath. However, I knew who my bet was going on.

With one last thing to address, I called only the males on stage, allowing the females to be taken away to the boxes.

"People of Panem, our President has planned something special for this years Games, a romantic twist," the crowd cheered but the boys on staged looked terrified as they huddled further away from each tribute. "Join us after the break to see what this is, see you then," I waved to cameras as the crowd cheered. I felt sorry for the tributes more than I usually did.


	7. The Pairs

I tell you one of the best things about this chapter was seeing the difference between my past chapters from about a year ago and now. You might not see much a difference but I know I have improved, even if those improvements are small. Anyway, in this chapter, the boys pick the girls they will be spending their time in the arena with. I think I might do this before the interviews next time, allow more development. All POV's in this were chosen at random. However, there is some characters I created a year ago that I just don't like anymore and I just don't feel like writing. Anyway, enjoy. Let me know what you think of the couples and who you think is most likely to fall in love, who do you ship and who do you think will be backstabbed by their partner?

* * *

 **Chapter 7: Fooled Around And Fell In Love (I am a sucker for this song XD)**

* * *

 **Jean Deco: District 2 POV**

After the interviews, we were lead into a large ballroom that held a large crowd of cheering people, the same crowd as the one at the interview, and cameras that recorded our reaction. All the males were lined up in front of a large number of boxes that held the twelve female tributes but judging by their lack of reaction, the glass allowed only us to see them. Once everyone was in place, Jaffe took the floor, a bright smile on his face.

"Welcome, Panem to the reveal of the Aphrodite twist!" the crowd went wild but he quickly shushed them. "This twist requires the males to pick a female, a romantic partner to spend their time in the Games with _but_ be careful because the twist also states that your female partner has the option to turn down victory with you, and your hand in marriage, and win by herself," he said this to one of them camera's, a sly smile on his face. The girls in the boxes started to panic, the young girl from Twelve breaking down into tears, so they could hear us. It was sick, they had no choice who they ended up with and at the end, had to marry that man or face killing him. I might have trained for the Games but I did not train for this.

"But don't worry, if a tributes partner dies, they have four hours to convince another tribute to couple with them, if not, they will be executed," the crowd was loving it but every tribute hated it, even us Careers. "Now, we will be starting at Twelve so, Asher, if you would not mind stepping up, please," Asher took his cue and moved forward. The room darkened, a red light shining down on Asher as the boxes lit up the terrified girls. He sat there for what must have been five minutes, sweating and panicking.

"Your District partner will automatically be chosen if you take too long" the camera focused on little Lia Goodfellow. "Asher, please-"

"The girl from Eight!" He screamed, the pretty, dark-haired girls box going dark. Asher was escorted away while. I could just see Tailors movements in the dark, she didn't look angry but rather, confused. I wondered why they were not allowed to see us if they could hear us.

Next up was Kyroic who seemed confident in his stride. The light barely had time to flicker on when he shouted "Kyra Pascal!" and her box went dark. The same happened with Rye. The little boy didn't have much choice so went for the only girl his age, Lia. Her box went dark and she started to cry, not really the reaction you want.

Quinoa was up next. The boy couldn't stop shivering as he looked at each one of the girls. Jaffe gave him the five-minute warning and he started to cry. Sadly for Quinoa, he was then placed with his District partner when the timer ran out.

* * *

 **Timber Jones: District 7 POV:**

Quinoa started to shout at the name of Alexandrite but it was too late, he was already being escorted away while Cammon Cundell was called up from the dwindling crowd of boys. Like Kyroic, he picked his partner in a matter of seconds. Unlike Kyroic, though, he seemed more ashamed of his answer. Given a typical day back in Seven, I would have mocked him until he hid where the sun doesn't shine. However, today, I had the issue with who I was going to pick.

"Timber Jones!" Jaffe called, a big smile on his face. The other boys around nudged me forward, towards the large group of girls. I felt like I was at the reaping once again. As my timer started to count down, I looked at each of the girls. Juncta was no go, just not my type and after my past meeting with Fousa, she was off the table. Kianna and Lime would just kill me to get back to Arno and Jean and Alexandrite would just kill me at the end, rather than marry me. That left Netra and Kalie. As Jaffe announced the five-minute mark, I looked at the two girls, looking for any imperfections. Both were gullible enough to fall for me if I tried and win a victory with me. I had to get married to them but there was nothing in there about cheating on them.

"Fifty-nine, fifty-eight," Jaffe started to count down and I started to panic, something I was not used to doing. "Thirty-two-"

"Netra Evans!" I shouted at the top of my lungs. The crowd fell silent before quickly cheering. Netra looked startled when her light went off. I was lead off to the side but on my way, I caught site of Arc and Cooter, looking sad and hurt that Netra was off the table.

* * *

 **Arc Good: District 3 POV**

Well, Netra was gone. The only girl I was interested in was gone, taken by some beefcake. At least she would have been happy. I looked at Fousa smiling away to herself, confident I was going to pick her. She was the only person that stopped me from forfeiting, I would get placed with her.

Chug went straight for Juncta and took the girl none of us wanted to be stuck with. The male from One sighed with relief. Next up was Cooter. To my surprise, he also knew who he was going for and picked Fousa within the first eight seconds. I felt sorry for him but it also took a weight off my shoulders. Same with Arno who chose Kianna before Jaffe had stopped announcing him.

"Arc Good!" The second they shouted my name, I shrugged and sat on the floor, eyes closed and turned away from the boxes. The crowd and tributes gasped at my display while Timber looked guilty for picking Netra. I listened to the minutes as the timer ticked down, they couldn't pick my District Partner so I didn't care. "Well ladies and gentlemen, It looks like Arc has given up so let's pick one for him," I wiped my head around and scowled as Jaffe turned to the crowd. "Who could would Arc couple with?" the name they all shouted made me feel sick. I was hoping if they secretly shipped me with anyone it would not be one of them...Lime Wickham, the career.

* * *

 **Painite Barker POV:**

I wanted to choose her but I was not sure what I expected, it was very clearly going to be Alexandrite, Jean would not pick anyone else but her out of the two girls left. I expected him to pick Lime but when Arc chose him, he looked happy. Almost relieved that he was not going to place with her.

"So that means Painite Barker with Kalie Jackson!" I sighed, she was not who I was hoping for but at least she was notJuncta from District Six. "Congratulations to all our happy couples and we wish you a happy first night together," this made all the tributes stop dead in their tracks. First night together?

* * *

 **Netra Evans: District 5 POV**

I held onto my small amount of belongings. None of it was really mine aside from the small golden ring that hung around my neck. My token from home. Everything else was hygiene essentials and a small bag full of my basic arena outfit and nightie. Only when I was packing my stuff did I realize how little I was attached to this world anymore. The clothes in my bag may very well be the last items I place on my body again. Everything that made me, well, me was far away back in Five.

The elevator shook slightly as it stopped at the seventh floor. The doors rattled open, my blue eyes meeting Elva's as she gave me a sympathetic look. Like myself, she carried nothing but her token and a small bag that was slung over her shoulders. "Good luck," she sighed as I walked past her, onto the District Seven floor. I turned and watched as the doors shut tightly behind her, leaving me alone again.

The girls had been forced to pack up and move onto the floor of their male partner. Mine turned out to me Timber so my new home for the night was on floor number seven. I was not complaining, he was certainly no eyesore and the fact he chose me over girls like Lime, I was rather flattered. However, I was not sure if I wanted to spend my final days with the man, he was not the most gentleman-like man in the Games. Then again, I was not sure I wanted to play happy families in the arena anyway. No doubt there would be punishments for not living up to the romance facade of the twist.

I cleared my throat when no one seemed to acknowledge my presence. Poor Timber almost leapt off the sofa as he turned to look at me, his face flustered. He disliked this as much as any of the women who had been forced into this. His eyes drifted over to the camera man that was behind me and frowned.

"We are live," he whispered to the tall blonde. Timber gave a slow nod as he turned to me.

"Do you want to sit and watch a movie or something?" he asked nervously, clearly trying to seem cool but when he was screaming on the inside.

I shook my head. "I just want to sleep, could you please show me to my room?" this request made Timber's face drain of colour and his mentor blurt out in laughter. Timber still gave a quick nod and took my hand and pulled me towards my room. I wanted to snatch my hand away from him but I could see out of the corner of my eye the cameraman following us. He was just playing it up for the cameras.

We came to the first door in the hallway and timber creaked open the door. I thanked him and walked in but he just followed suit, shutting and locking the door. "What are you doing?"

"This is my room-"

"I want my own room-"

"They are making us sleep in the same room, I already argued," he said, his head low with defeat. "They also have cameras and bugs all over the room, people are actually interested in this," he sighed, unbuttoning his shirt to reveal his muscular chest. I tried not to watch but a dusting of blush coated my cheeks as he threw his shirt on the floor and slumped on the bed. "I will keep my pants on tonight so it does not seem creepy," said said, his voice laced with sadness.

"Hm, can I get dressed?" Timber hummed in response turning away from me and closing his eyes.

"I won't look, don't worry," he chirped. That was not really what I was after but I could make do.

* * *

 **Aphrodite Pairs**

Asher Trist (D12)-Tailor Jackson (D8)

Kyroic Stelson (D11)- Kyra Pascal (D11)

Rye Simmons (D10)- Lia Goodfellow (D12)

Quinoa Croft (D9)-Grain Hudsbeth (D9)

Cammo Cundell (D8)-Elva White (D7)

Timber Jones (D7)-Netra Evans (D5)

Chug Johnson (D6)- Juncta Broughton (D6)

Cooter Brumby (D5)- Fousa Long (D3)

Arno Kennady (D4)- Kianna Frost (D4)

Arc Good (D3)- Lime Wickham (D2)

Jean Deco (D2)- Alexandrite Musgravite (D1)

Painite Barker (D1)- Kalie Jackson (D10)


	8. Countdown and Bloodbath

**Chapter 10: Countdown and Bloodbath**

* * *

 **Paintie Barker, 18: District 1 POV**

"It's so cold in here," I said as I walked into the metal room, my breath freezing in front of me.

"We have to make it like that, so you can't tell the temperature of the arena," My stylist Beia said with a smile. She was awfully chirpy considering I could be going to my death. Then again, I had never seen her sad.

"What on earth are these costumes?" I questioned, pointing to the green dress I was wearing. The long sleeved dress had a sleeveless top that fastened over the shoulder with long, leather cuffs. Three golden belts were tied round my waist and my strawberry blonde hair was slicked back. Beia shrugged as she passed me knee high, leather boots.

"Not a clue, they are ghastly, I do know that due to how they are made, the temperature won't be cold or hot, in between and you will be on land," land was good, I was never a water child unless, like, it was drinking water.

I sighed as I sat down to put my shoes on. I volunteered for this but I was frightened. I didn't want to die, I just wanted to go home and see my mother. She was a victor and up until now, I had been sure that I would see her again. We didn't even say goodbye to each other, she just wished me good luck. I wanted to see her, I wanted to run up to her and bury my face into her shoulder and cry. Even if I was to win this, I would have to go through pain like I had ever known.

"One minute to launch," a robotic voice bellowed as I stood up, echoing around the room and bouncing off the walls. I looked at the glass tube that would lead me up to my battleground. I felt like screaming, breaking everything in the room before crying into the slate flooring.

"Good look Pain," Beia said with a sigh as she grabbed my face to get a good look at me. Her pink eyes narrowed as she wiped a small tear away. "I look forward to dressing you up for your victory tour," she mumbled shakily, placing the golden bracelet from my mother on my wrist.

"Thank you," I sniffed, forcing a smile on my face as I turned around to face the tube. I had made the biggest mistake of my life but I couldn't show it. I had to be the victor I knew I could be.

* * *

 **Kainna Frost, 18: District 4 POV**

"Do you think I can make it?" I asked Boe as I twirled in my arena outfit. It was a tight, blue, long sleeved dress that ended just above my knee. The dress was zipped up across my shoulder with a dark blue ribbon tying it off. I had a leather coat that went over my shoulders and ended just below my hips. It was held in place by a thick, leather strip that went around my waist. Under the dress, I had leather pants and fur covered knee high boots. My hair was in a bun above my head with a stick going through it. I looked beautiful.

"Yes, but only if you leave Arno behind, he will just hurt you. I suggest you leave the careers after the bloodbath and go off on your own-" I cut him off my slapping him across the face, tears falling from my eyes. He rubbed his cheek as he looked at me in shock.

"You don't know anything so don't try and give me advice...I promise I would protect Arno," I shouted as I stormed over to the other end of the room. The green haired man just simply laughed as he walked towards me.

"Then you will never be a victor," he seethed before walking over to the door and waiting for it to open.

"Ten seconds till launch" a voice spoke, shaking the room and forcing me to move. I walked over to the tubes. The door opened with a wave of a hand, allowing me to step inside. In a few minutes, I was going to be able to see Arno again and I would able to put his plan into action. I wasn't bothered about winning, as long as I survived to the end to protect Arno, I was good.

The door startled me as it closed, making a whooshing sound as it did so. I looked over to Boe and gave him a smug smile. The short man just gave me a shrug before leaving the room and leaving me alone. I was glad he didn't care, I would only disappoint him when I died. I hated disappointing people but it's all I had ever done. That's why I wouldn't let Arno down. I would make him the victor.

As the tube moved towards the light, I couldn't help but smile. I was going to die but at least I would die to do something right. Saving the boy I loved.

* * *

 **Grain Hudsbeth, 18: District 9 POV**

The tuberose, right into the blinding light. My hand shot up to my eyes to shield them. However, once I came to a stop, I didn't want to open my eyes. I didn't want to see the place I would die, I didn't want to see the career that would be next to me. I had no other choice. Sometimes in life, you have to see death before you can live.

I removed my hand to find the sun wasn't as bright as it seemed. However, it was extremely hot, compared to the air conditioned room I was in a few seconds ago. The bloodbath would be quick, the Career's wouldn't be able to keep up with the heat. They would lose too much water.

As I looked around the arena, I felt my heart sink. The cornucopia was in some sort of clearing at the top of a mountain. We weren't that high and from what I could see, the sides were not steep. They looked more like a steady decline onto level land, something you could walk down without slipping. Off in the distance, I could see another clearing, full of small huts and a large lake.

I knew where I was going.

* * *

 **Alexandrite Musgravite, 18: District 1 POV**

Everyone was going to head towards the lake, it was a hot arena and that seemed to be the only freshwater source. I was placed next to the males from seven and twelve, Timber Jones and Asher Trist. Neither really concerned me on their own but their Alliances did.

I watched as Arc signaled to Timber, Netra, Juncta, Elva, Cooter and Fousa and then pointed towards the lake. I smiled at Painte and Jean, the two boys giving me a thumb ups. It seemed mean, picking on a single alliance but it had to be done. They were the only alliance strong enough to take us on. They had to go. All of the alliances had to go, that was our main aim in the bloodbath, wipe out every alliance.

"FIVE," my alliance was ready.

"FOUR," and so was I.

"THREE," I wasn't going to like everything I did.

"TWO," but that was life.

"ONE," that was the life of a victor.

"LET THE 80TH ANNUAL HUNGER GAMES BEGIN!" It was time..

 **Kyroic Stelson, 15: District 11 POV**

The second the gong went off, I lept off my platform and ran for the centre of the cornucopia. I ran past the pieces of tarps and backpacks and went straight for the weapons, my brown eyes falling on the rack of large, oversized knives. The smaller things were for Rye, Lia and Kyra, I was the man and that meant I had to do the hard stuff.

I was shocked that I was first to reach the cornucopia, sure, I was the fastest runner in my school but faster than the Careers? It seemed alien. I laughed to myself as I pulled the large knives off their hooks, one by one and stuffed them into a brown, leather bag.

Two hands snaked over my ears, the nails digging into the side of my face, just as I tied the bag. I opened my mouth to scream when my head was forced to the side and with a snap, everything went black.

 **Rye Simmons, 12: District 10 POV**

I watched in shock as Kyroic went down, falling at Jean's feet. The dark haired boy looked around before quickly pulling a knife out the bag and running after Kalie, who ran as fast as she could away from him.

My attention was drawn back to the leather bag full of knives that Kyroic had packed. I needed a knife, otherwise, I was dead. I looked over to find Lia looking at me, her brown eyes full of tears. I pointed with anger towards the tree's where Kyroic told us to meet. If she wasn't going to do anything, she might as well go and wait for us. She nodded and started running towards the tree line. I turned my attention back towards the bag and decided to run for it. Tunnel vision took over as my main focus was the bag. I slipped slightly as I came to a halt and picked up the leather bag by the strings, closing it again.

I turned to run towards Lia when a fist struck me in my face, breaking the skin on my cheek. I fell backwards, hitting my head on a wooden crate. My head seemed to pulsate as I looked up to see Arno Kennedy Looking down at me, a smug smirk on his face.

"This is what you get for carving my name in that station you peice of shit-" He screamed in pain as I kicked him in the knee, sending him tumbling onto the floor. I quickly pulled myself up to my feet and despite my blurred vision, tried my best to run away from the short, blonde male. I pushed myself as much as I could, panic setting in as I heard Arno's footsteps chasing after me. I glanced back to see him full of rage, holding one of the large knives in his hand.

I pushed with all my strength to run faster, my lungs screaming out in pain as my legs started to feel like jelly. I didn't stop until I got to the tree line and leaped down the hill, allowing myself to roll until I stopped. By the time I had stopped, I couldn't even see the peak anymore and Arno was nowhere to be seen.

 **Lia Goodfellow, 13: District 12 POV**

Tears spilled from my eyes as I watched Arno punch Rye then chase him round the other side of the cornucopia. He couldn't of been leaving me, he was going to be coming back. I held my hand over my mouth to silence my whimpers as I waited for Rye's return. I had seen Asher being chased away from me by Alexandrite and Chug and Kyra were nowhere to be seen. He was the only ally I had left.

After a few moments, Arno returned, his knife covered in blood and a smirk on his face. That was it. I was alone. I watched as the blood of Rye dripped onto the green grass, something that once kept the bouncing boy alive was now nothing but stain on a blade. Only then, did I realise how real it was.

I felt a warm liquid seep out from between my legs as my whimpers became muffled screams. My body shook I pushed my head towards the ground,the smell of urine filling my nostrils.

"I just want to go home," I cried to myself. I just wanted my mum, my brother, my dad. Was they watching me now? Was they worried for me or was they disappointed I wasn't fighting?. I guess I was never going to get an Answer because at the moment, something pulled me out from the tree line by the bun on my head.

 **Lime Wickham, 18: District 2 POV**

I watched with sympathy as Jean dragged dragged the small girl from twelve out from the tree line. The girl was a mess. She was thrashing and screaming with all of her might. Even after Jean let go of her.

"Just let me go home" she screamed as she clawed and punched the ground. She screamed as her body shook, her brown eyes so teared up, she most likely couldn't see out of them. Jean looked towards me and nodded as I strung up the ancient looking bow and arrow.

I aimed it at the girl's right eye as she looked up and saw me. She stumbled to her feet and screamed just as I let the arrow go. The force throwing her backwards and back into the tree line. Jean looked at her body with sadness, shook his head and walked away.

A girl that young shouldn't be in the Games. It should be fourteen to eighteen year olds. I gave her the best death she would of got in the Games. I just hope her family understood that.

"Lime, get here," Alexandrite shouted as she pointed to the short girl from seven who was running from the cornucopia. At least this girl was old enough.

 **Fousa Long, 16: District 3 POV**

When the gong sounded, I jumped off my platform and sped towards the woods. I wouldn't be able to handle the bloodbath and after hours of convincing Arc, the alliance agreed to allow me to escape it and meet up later.

My legs carried as fast they could until I got to the start of the forest that circled the cornucopia stood in. My chest started to burn as she collapsed at the base of a large tree and looked out to the torture that was unfolding before my eyes. My brown eyes widened as she saw the short blonde from one swing her bat at the back of Elva's legs. Elva fell to the floor with a crack as her head impacted the rock, blood spattering everywhere. I wasn't the brightest tool in the shed but I knew Elva had survived. Well that blow anyway.

I tore her eyes away from the scene just a few metres away from me and shakely ripped apart a leaf. The sound of Elva's skull breaking under the blows of the career's metal bat filling my ears. The sound was so loud and distracting that I didn't even hear the footsteps in the soft mud behind me.

A large, sudden blow to my back sent me flying forward and landing face first in the mud. My chest heaved to get air as I scrambled to turn around. Before I even had chance to look at my attacker, something metalic came into view and struck me in the face. Pain shot through my body as I felt my eyeball explode on impact and my ears filled with blood, a high pitch buzzing sound was all I could hear. As I was pulled to my feet, my body slumped forward and it took all my strength to sit up. My brain wasn't even able to comprehend the amount of pain or look at the situation before the girl from One swung her bat again with enough force to cave in my skull.

 **Netra Evans, 17: District 5 POV**

I didn't have a clue where anybody was, hell, I didn't even know if anyone was left. Maybe I was the only one. I took deep breaths as I shakily held a knife in my hands, I leant my head back against the cornucopia walls. I was safe for the time being, my presence hidden by by a wall of large crates. But I couldn't stay here forever.

"Please," I whimpered "I don't want to die-," a large mass flew over the wall of crates and landed across from me. I held back a scream as I pointed my knife towards it. The mass turned out to be a tall blonde man, who look flustered and frightened.

"Timber?" I gasped as the boy looked over to me, a small smile forming on his face. He was covered in mud and he held a large, double edged sword in his hand.

"Netra you're alive!" He laughed, crawling over to me, his chest muscles seeming restricted by the leather jacket that was over his long, brown, dress like clothes. He grabbed my face and looked me up and now. "You ain't hurt...how?" He said looking deep into my eyes.

"Same as you I guess, haven't stayed near anyone long enough to get hurt," I giggled, pushing the large boy off me. Timber smiled at me before looking down at his sword.

"I'm glad I have someone from my alliance, we just need to find everyone else," He sighed, getting on his knees for a second to peek over the wall of crates. His eyebrows knotted as he sat back down, looking defeated. "I honestly don't see how we are going to get out of this-," Timber reeled back, letting out the girliest scream I had ever heard as a shadow blocked out the sunlight.

He grabbed onto my arm as we both looked up to see the boy from 9, Quinoa. He smiled down at us softly before holding out his hand.

"Follow me I know a way to get out of here," He voice was just above a whisper. "All you have to do is-," I guess we will never know what the way out was because soon after that, me and Timber were showered in his blood.

 **Arno Kennedy, 15: District 4 POV**

I laughed, spinning around in a circle, my second kill of these Games and both older tributes. I had the most and best kills of any career so far. I had to, I was doing amazing. I had killed Juncta and Quinoa both in less than ten minutes. Soon I would get that little brat from ten as well.

"Timber?" A small voice whispered from behind the wall of crates Quinoa was leaning over. I walked over to the creates, whistling a happy tune as I did so. Two more kills for me? Yes please. I held my sword at my side as I peered over.

I couldn't help but smile as two tributes came into view, there was so much blood covering them, I could only tell one one a male due to his short, buff nature. Maybe the dude from Seven?

"Hey there, cute couple," I scoffed as I started to move a crate out the way. The girl just narrowed her eyes at me as blood dripped down from her fringe.

"Eat shit dickhead!" She screamed at the top of her voice as she leaped towards me, dragging her blade across my face as she did so. I screamed out in pain and stumbled backwards until I was on the ground. I tried to opened my eyes but I could only see out of one, the other was sliced open. I screamed out in pain even more, rolling about on the floor. I didn't know it would hurt this bad, if this hurt, what does being stabbed feel like?

"What happened?" a deep voice boomed. I looked up, blood spilling from the deep gash on my face.

"Jean, help me, that bitch-," The bearded man nodded.

"I will just take the top off for you," He sighed. I went to say thank you when he swung hisaxe and cut my head off.

* * *

 **24th: Kyroic Stelson, 15 from District 11- Killed By Having Neck Snapped By Jean.**

 **23rd: Lia Goodfellow, 13 from District 12- Killed By Lime Shooting An Arrow in her eye.**

 **22nd: Elva White, 16 from District 7- Killed by Alexandrite Beating Her To Death.**

 **21st: Fousa Long, 16 from District 3- Killed by Alexandrite Beating Her To Death.**

 **20th: Quinoa Croft, 18 from District 9- Killed by Arno Cutting His Head Off.**

 **19th: Arno Kennedy, 15 from District 4- Killed by Jean Chopping His Head Off.**

 **You will notice, Rye and Juncta are not on here. That's because they are not dead. Yet.**

 **Tributes who have Four hours to find another partner before they are killed:**

Kianna Frost (D4)

Grain Hudsbeth (D9)

Cooter Brumby (D5)

Cammo Cundell (D8)

Kyra Pascal (D11)

Rhy Simmons (D10)

 **Alliances as of Now:**

 **Careers:**

Jean Deco (D2)

Alexandrite Musgravite (D1)

Pentie Barker (D1)

Kalie Jackson (D10)

Lime Wickham (D2)

Kianna Frost (D4)

 **McGoods:**

Arc Good (D3)

Cooter Brumby (D5)

Kyra Pascal (D11)

Cammo Cundell (D8)

 **BreakAways:**

Timber Jones (D7)

Netra Evans (D5)

 **Twelve:**

Asher Trist (D12)

Tailor Jackson (D8)

 **Loners:**

Juncta Broughton (D6)

Chug Johnson (D6)

Grain Hudsbeth (D9)

 **The Pairs (Ones in bold are dead, ones in italics have four hours to find a new partner):**

Asher Trist (D12)-Tailor Jackson (D8)

 **Kyroic Stelson (D11)** \- _Kyra Pascal (D11)_

 _Rye Simmons (D10)_ - **Lia Goodfellow (D12)**

 **Quinoa Croft (D9)** - _Grain Hudsbeth (D9)_

 _Cammo Cundell (D8_ )- **Elva White (D7)**

Timber Jones (D7)-Netra Evans (D5)

Chug Johnson (D6)- Juncta Broughton (D6)

 _Cooter Brumby (D5)_ \- **Fousa Long (D3)**

 **Arno Kennady (D4)** \- **Kianna Frost (D4)**

Arc Good (D3)- Lime Wickham (D2)

Jean Deco (D2)- Alexandrite Musgravite (D1)

Painite Barker (D1)- Kalie Jackson (D10)

 **What are your thoughts on the deaths? Did you see them going down? Who do you think will be able to find a new partner?**


	9. First Night

**Chapter 12: End of Day 1**

* * *

 **Rhy Simmons, 12: District 10**

"Netra, they are gone, they would of been here by now if they were alive," Timber said to his ally who was crouched behind a thick bush, her eyes glued to the Cornucopia. I climbed up the steep hill and towards the bloodbath in the hopes that I could pick up some supplies. However, These two were blocking my clear pathway. I could see a neon green backpack, one I could easily sneak out to pick up, just out of my reach. It must of been dropped by a fallen tribute judging by the blood stain next to it. Someone must have had their head beaten in .

The ferns around me were about a inch taller and concealed me from the eyes of the much older tributes. I didn't think Netra had it in her to kill someone and Timber seemed more like a cry baby than a killer. Sadly, they were stronger, taller and each held a large weapon, it wasn't worth the risk.

"They can't all be dead," Netra choked, her hand balling into a fist. I knew her and Arc were close but I always assumed she was smarter than getting attached to people she had only known a couple of days. Or maybe the idea of her alliance being cut down to such low numbers frightened her. If I remember from training, her alliance was the biggest with eight members, the lower your numbers, the lower your chances. At least it was less chance to get back stabbed.

However, only five cannons had sounded and I knew one of them was for Kyroic so at least two other members were still alive. Assuming everyone else that died was part of the alliance. Surely they must've seen people go down in the bloodbath too, they must of known this information.

"Yeah, well, we'll be dead if we don't move," Timber said almost pleadingly, tugging on the collar of Netra's dress. The blonde allowed herself to be yanked to her feet before pulling free of Timber's grip. She smoothed out her collar, letting out a deep sigh as she continued to look out onto the clearing.

"Wait-" Timbers breath hitched, and he dropped to the ground, dragging Netra down with him.

"W-w-what?", she stuttered as she clining to Timber in fear. I was honestly surprised they hadn't heard the noise before now. It had been going on in the distance for the past minute or so. Only difference was, it had only just started come towards us.

I slowly lowered myself onto the ground, the ferns concealing every inch of me. There was a small hole I could still see Timber and Netra out of but it only allowed me to see their lower halves.

The noise came again but this time it was closer. It was a dragging sound that moved the taller ferns behind me. It would stop for a few seconds before starting up again, each time the moans becoming more pained.

"There's somebody in the bushes," Timber breathed against Netra's neck. The girl scrambled for her backpack, swung it over her shoulders and ran off down the trail, deeper into the jungle. Timber watched her run away but looked torn as if to stay or run. For someone who was just moaning about leaving, this was a rather confusing reaction.

"Timber?" the voice said weakly as a bloody hand stretched out into the open and towards the tall male. He looked down in horror as the hand clung to the dirt and hauled the body it was attached to, out of the bushes. From my position, I couldn't see who it was, but judging by Timber's guilt ridden face, he did.

"I'm so sorry," He choked before picking up his own backpack and running after Netra. As his footsteps vanished in the distance, I slowly rose to my feet and walked out of the bushes. Whoever it was must of been badly injured otherwise they would have done more than crawl through the undergrowth.

I walked into the open and looked at the tribute. It was the girl from six, Juncta I think she was called. All of the blood seemed to have been drained from her face as she looked at me with sunken brown eyes. Most of her blood was most likely in the crimson trail behind her. Whoever had caused the large hole in her stomach clearly lacked skill. She should've been dead the second she was stabbed. Although, I doubt I would know how to kill someone, it was clearly harder than it seemed.

Juncta curled into a ball as blood trickled from the corners of her mouth onto the green plants that surrounded her. It was a dark scene and she must have been in the worst type of pain you could feel. However, she wasn't my problem, I couldn't be distracted by people like her, otherwise, I would only end up in the same situation.

I turned and ran back into the area the cornucopia stood, picked up the neon green backpack and ran back to Juncta. I peeked out through the tree line to make sure the careers didn't see me. Judging by the way the pair from One were arguing over a sleeping bag, I was going to guess they didn't.

I sat by Juncta who just mumbled to herself, her body shaking. I opened the bag and quickly look through it. A machete, most likely added by the person who dropped it, three bags each held dried fruit and nuts, a torch and night goggles. Perfect, I could move at night if I needed to.

Not wanting to stay in the open for long, I took the machete in my right hand and placed the backpack over my shoulders and ran off into the dark jungle. A few seconds into running, a cannon sounded.

* * *

 **Chug Johnson, 14: District 6**

I ran full speed down the hill, allowing physics to help my large form to the bottom. I kept looking over my shoulder to make sure no one was following me. My lungs burned and every inch of fat seemed to be trying to pull me down.

I must have been running for at least ten minutes when I ran into the tree. I saw it in time to shield my face but that didn't save my arms from being torn apart by the tough bark and forced onto my backside.

I cursed to myself as I scrambled into to the thick bushes to the right of me and laid down. I pushed my face into the dirt and let the tears spill from my eyes, their camera's wouldn't be able to see me cry that way. They most likely would have guessed by the way my body shook and my sniffling.

I shouldn't have been alive, I was a lumbering ball of fat; I should have been the first to go. At first, I just felt lucky as I picked up my neon green backpack. I even ran into the middle, got a machete and got out without a scratch. However, after seeing what they did to Elva, I started to feel like I just didn't deserve my life.

They ran the short girl down, smashing the bat into the back of her knees. My knees became weak at the loud crack the followed as they smashed the bat into her face until there was nothing left. Even her own family wouldn't have been able to recognize her.

I didn't know her but she always seemed so nice. Much nicer than I was and now she was dead. I couldn't even stay with my ally. I wasn't sure if Lai was dead or not but I hope she was just lost. I had failed as a human, I didn't want to fail as an ally too.

I couldn't even have the balls to turn around and grab my pack after I dropped it. I was too frightened that I would turn around to see a career plunging a dagger into my throat and leaving me to drown in my own lifeforce. I just hoped Lia found it, she must have been so frightened.

* * *

 **Kianna Frost, 18: District 4**

I was frightened. Arno was dead and I could see the way the other career's looked at me, I was dead weight. The only reason I was still alive was because they felt sorry for me. Lime looked at me with sorrow while Alexandrite just shook her head in frustration. I had three hours to find someone else to partner with or die. I needed someone soon but I couldn't bring myself to cheat on Arno.

I couldn't even get revenge for Arno, I didn't know who killed him. I could tell that everyone knew who it was, none of them would tell me, though. My best guess was Lime or Jean, neither liked him but surely they wouldn't have killed him in such a dishonorable manor. They were Careers.

I wasn't frightened of dying, I was frightened of how I would die. I had warmed up to the idea of Arno killing me. Dying for the person I loved always seemed like the best way to go but now, that death had been taken away from me. I would be killed by another tribute who didn't care about me or by some twisted mutt the Capitol had designed. I didn't want that, if I couldn't die by Arno's blade, I wanted to die by my own.

* * *

 **  
Jean Deco, 18: District 2**

Kianna had been sat down at the entrance of the Cornucopia for a hours now, just staring at the pool of Arno's blood. She seemed to be taking it better than we assumed, she didn't scream or cry, she just sat down and let herself drift away into her mind.

"She needs to go, at least Arno could fight, she is useless," Alexandrite groaned as we watched the skinny blonde girl from a distance. Peninte and I just sat in silence as we watched the tall redhead pace back and forth. We both agreed Kianna needed to go but we wasn't going to get between Alexandrite and Lime, we didn't want to break the career's up just yet. If my mother taught me anything, you don't try and stop girls fighting.

"It's not her fault she is here, Jean shouldn't have killed Arno," Lime snapped, waving her knife at me. I looked up, my cheeks full of dried banana from the pack I had picked up. She better not start dragging me into this, I did what I had to do. The dude couldn't even handle a cut to the face, I did him a favour.

"It's a Game where you kill people, if you are that golden hearted, you shouldn't of volunteered," Alexandrite laughed as she kneeled down to Lime's level. I liked Lime but Alexandrite was right, we had been taught what the Games were about from the day we joined the academy. She was never this kind back home.

"Just let her live a little while, I know what it's like to be in the type of relationship she was in-"

"Kianna?" Peninte said through a mouthful of nuts. We turned back to the short blonde girl, she was walking into the cornucopia almost like she was in a trance. The clatter of weapons made us raise to our feet. I felt my body move into a defensive stance as I held my sword in front of my chest. If she was after revenge for Arno, I was ready.

Kianna looked us all up and down and smiled when her blue eyes fell on me. She pulled the large knife before her.

"You killed him," She giggled, nodding towards me. Everyone else gave me a quick glance of confusion before turning back to Kianna.

"Please, don't do this, he wasn't worth it, he abused you," Lime screamed "We can find you someone else.". She bolted forward but Alexandrite pounced on her and pinned her to the ground. Lime wiggled and screamed, pounding her back with balled up fists.

"I won't die like him," Kianna whimpered, her hands shaking as she pulled the knife closer. She payed no attention to Lime's pleas, closing her eyes and she came to terms with what she was doing.

Even Alexandrite turned away when she screamed, pushing the knife into her stomach. She even screamed when the blood spilled from her mouth and bubbled around the corners of her lips. She dropped to her knees in pain and she forced the knife to just above her right hip.

I closed my eyes and refused to look. I didn't feel guilt but I felt sick. Suicide had never sat well with me. I believed in fighting until your last breath, not giving up when things got hard.

At least there would be no more fights over her. In the end, no one killed her, she took herself out. It was no one else's fault but her own and Arno's abusing her into volunteering. I felt sorry for what she went through but not enough to stop playing the Game.

* * *

 **Arc Good, 18: District 3**

The jungle was cast into darkness long before the sun had set. Just before the sun had vanished fully from the sky, a cannon sounded. A single one. It was silent after that.

I wasn't sure if Cooter and Kyra were awake, but I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep tonight. I was only able to find Cooter and Kyra in the bloodbath. I ran towards our meeting place only to find the careers waiting there alongside the body of Elva. I should have stayed and waited or tried to fight but once they started to chase after us, I was only bothered about saving myself and the members of my alliance I had found. Part of me hopped the rest of them were dead. It wasn't good but It was better than me leaving them behind. Most of all, I hoped Lime was alive, if she was dead, I would only have about two hours left.

A bright light shone through the branches of the tree we took shelter in. A few seconds later, the anthem played, making Cooter sit up look towards the sky. Kyra, on the other hand, stayed still, her face turned away. She either didn't want to see a face or was asleep.

The first face was Fousa. I never liked her but I had known her since we were kids and she was from home. With her death, I felt further from home than ever before. At least it confirmed that Lime was safe for the time being.

Next was the two from four. It felt nice to have two careers out of the Games. The fact that it was my first thought meant the Games had already changed me. They will still humans, no matter how insane they were.

Juncta's face came up next and I felt sick, same when Elva's face appeared afterwards. Their faces looked down on me with judging eyes. I was their leader, I should have protected them. Yet there they were, dead. Their families hating on the fact I was alive and their children were not.

The boy from nine, I didn't even recognize. If I didn't know him, neither did most of the Capitol. He would be forgotten within days.

When Kyroic's face came up, I understood why Kyra didn't want to look. Kyra started to sob, her body shaking violently. I looked over to Cooter for reassurance but his face was white, his body shaking.

Last of all was the girl from twelve, someone who shouldn't have been in the Games let alone dead in a cardboard box.

When the sky went black, I couldn't help but wish that more people had died. The more people that were alive, the more chance there was to be killed. At this point, I just wanted to go home.

"Netra and Timber are still alive," Cooter sighed from somewhere in the darkness, "So is your partner." I hadn't even thought about them, I assumed they were dead to the point that I didn't even notice when their faces didn't show up.

"I left them behind," I whimpered as I laid down, letting my tears soak into the wood. I wasn't too bothered about Timber, he was there to die, but Netra helped me build this alliance. She was someone that given a different situation to meet her in, we could have been good friends. I might have even fallen for her.

"That's if they were even together," Cooter said, making my mind flash with images of Netra bleeding out, all alone while Timber cried out of fear in a bush, right next to the careers.

"I hope so," I sniffed. Timber was one of the worst people to be stuck with in the arena with, but it was better than being alone. At least together, they had a chance. At least together, I might be able to see Netra again.

"I have two hours left," Kyra whimpered, refusing to look at me and Cooter. The boy gave a soft smile and hopped down a branch, placing an arm on her shoulder.

"There is only one way we can both survive...Kyra, will you couple with me?"

* * *

 **18th- Juncta Brumby: Bled out thanks to stab wound inflicted by Arno.**

 **17th- Kianna Frost: Suicide**

* * *

 **People Who Have A Few Hours To Live**

 **Grain Hudsbeth, District Nine- 2 hours**

 **Cammo Cundell, District Eight-2 hours**

 **Chug Johnson, District Six- 3hours**

 **Rye Simmons, District Ten-2 hours**

 **Couples:**

 **Asher Trist, District Twelve, and Tailor Jackson, District Eight**

 **Timber Jones, District Seven and Netra Evans, District Five**

 **Cooter Brumby, District Five and Kyra Pascal, District Eleven**

 **Arc Good, District Three and Lime Wickham, District Two**

 **Jean Deco, District Two and Alexandrite, District One**

 **Penite Barker, District One and Kaliee Jackson, District Ten**

 **Let me know if you think any of the loners will couple (same sex partnerships are allowed) and who do you think the victor will be? Also, do you think this would make a good SYOT?**


End file.
